Alien Saga (SC-FI HORROR)

 

 

 

Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature that stalks and kills the crew of a spaceship. Dan O'Bannon wrote the screenplay from a story he wrote with Ronald Shusett, drawing influence from previous works of science fiction and horror. The film was produced through Brandywine Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox, with producers David Giler and Walter Hill making significant revisions and additions to the script. The titular Alien and its accompanying elements were designed by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the human aspects of the film.
 

Alien garnered both critical acclaim and box office success, receiving an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction for Scott, and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright, and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, along with numerous other award nominations. It has remained highly praised in subsequent decades, being inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2002 for historical preservation as a film which is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2008 it was ranked as the seventh-best film in the science fiction genre by the American Film Institute, and as the 33rd-greatest movie of all time by Empire magazine.
 

The success of Alien spawned a media franchise of novels, comic books, video games, and toys, as well as three sequel and two prequel films. It also launched Weaver's acting career by providing her with her first lead role, and the story of her character Ripley's encounters with the Alien creatures became the thematic thread that ran through the sequels Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997). The subsequent prequels Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) abandoned this theme in favor of a crossover with the Predator franchise. Scott began work on an Alien prequel in 2009, which developed into his 2012 film Prometheus.
 

 

Plot

The commercial towing spaceship Nostromo is on a return trip to Earth, hauling a refinery and twenty million tons of mineral ore and carrying its seven-member crew in stasis. Detecting a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby planetoid, the ship's computer awakens the crew. Acting on standing orders from their corporate employers, they set out to investigate the transmission's source. Landing the ship on the planetoid causes it some damage, so Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt), and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) set out to investigate the signal while Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), and Engineers Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) and Parker (Yaphet Kotto) stay behind to make repairs.

Dallas, Kane, and Lambert discover that the signal is coming from a derelict alien spacecraft. Inside they find the remains of a large alien creature whose ribs appear to have been forced outward from the inside. Meanwhile, the Nostromo's computer partially deciphers the transmission, which Ripley determines to be some type of warning. Kane discovers a chamber containing numerous eggs, one of which releases a creature that attaches to his face. Unconscious, he is carried back to the Nostromo where Ash violates quarantine protocol by bringing him aboard. Unsuccessfully attempting to remove the creature from Kane's face, the crew discover that its blood is a corrosive acid. It eventually detaches on its own and is found dead. With the ship repaired, the crew resume their trip to Earth.
 

Kane awakens seemingly unharmed, but later chokes and convulses until an alien creature bursts from his chest, killing him and escaping into the ship. Lacking conventional weapons, the crew attempt to locate and capture the creature by fashioning motion trackers, electric prods, and flamethrowers. The Alien, now fully-grown, attacks Brett and disappears with his body into an air shaft. Dallas enters the shafts intending to force the Alien into an airlock, but it ambushes him. Lambert implores the remaining crew members to escape in the ship's shuttle, but Ripley, now in command, explains that the shuttle will not support four people.

Accessing the ship's computer, Ripley discovers that Ash has been ordered to return the Alien to the Nostromo's corporate employers even at the expense of the crew's lives. Ash attacks her, but Parker intervenes and decapitates him, revealing Ash to be an android. Before being destroyed, Ash predicts that the others will not survive. The remaining three crew members plan to arm the Nostromo's self-destruct mechanism and escape in the shuttle, but Parker and Lambert are killed by the Alien while gathering the necessary supplies. Ripley initiates the self-destruct sequence and heads for the shuttle with the crew's cat, but finds the Alien blocking her way. She unsuccessfully attempts to abort the self-destruct, then returns to find the Alien gone and narrowly escapes in the shuttle as the Nostromo explodes.

As she prepares to enter stasis, Ripley discovers that the Alien is aboard the shuttle. She puts on a space suit and opens the hatch, causing explosive decompression which forces the Alien to the open doorway. She propels it out by shooting it with a grappling hook, but the gun catches in the closing door, tethering the Alien to the shuttle. As it attempts to crawl into one of the engines, Ripley activates them and blasts it into space. She then puts herself and the cat into stasis, hoping to be picked up by some other ship

 

Origins

 

Dan O'Bannon wrote the screenplay for Alien.

While studying cinema at the University of Southern California, Dan O'Bannon had made a science fiction comedy film with director John Carpenter and concept artist Ron Cobb entitled Dark Star.The film included an alien which had been created using a spray-painted beach ball, and the experience left O'Bannon "really wanting to do an alien that looked real." A few years later he began working on a similar story that would focus more on horror: "I knew I wanted to do a scary movie on a spaceship with a small number of astronauts", he later recalled, "Dark Star as a horror movie instead of a comedy." Ronald Shusett, meanwhile, was working on an early version of what would eventually become Total Recall. Impressed by Dark Star, he contacted O'Bannon and the two agreed to collaborate on their projects, choosing to work on O'Bannon's film first as they believed it would be less costly to produce. O'Bannon had written twenty-nine pages of a script titled Memory comprising what would become the film's opening scenes: a crew of astronauts awaken to find that their voyage has been interrupted because they are receiving a signal from a mysterious planetoid. They investigate and their ship breaks down on the surface. He did not yet, however, have a clear idea as to what the alien antagonist of the story would be.

 

O'Bannon soon accepted an offer to work on a film adaptation of Dune, a project which took him to Paris for six months. Though the project ultimately fell through, it introduced him to several artists whose works gave him ideas for his science fiction story including Chris Foss, H. R. Giger, and Jean "Moebius" Giraud. O'Bannon was impressed by Foss' covers for science fiction books, while he found Giger's work "disturbing": "His paintings had a profound effect on me. I had never seen anything that was quite as horrible and at the same time as beautiful as his work. And so I ended up writing a script about a Giger monster." After the Dune project collapsed O'Bannon returned to Los Angeles to live with Shusett and the two revived his Memory script. Shusett suggested that O'Bannon use one of his other film ideas, about gremlins infiltrating a B-17 bomber during World War II, and set it on the spaceship as the second half of the story. The working title of the project was now Star Beast, but O'Bannon disliked this and changed it to Alien after noting the number of times that the word appeared in the script. He and Shusett liked the new title's simplicity and its double meaning as both a noun and adjective. Shusett came up with the idea that one of the crew members could be implanted with an alien embryo that would later burst out of him, feeling that this was an interesting plot device by which the alien creature could get aboard the ship.

In writing the script, O'Bannon drew inspiration from many previous works of science fiction and horror. He later stated that "I didn't steal Alien from anybody. I stole it from everybody!"The Thing from Another World (1951) inspired the idea of professional men being pursued by a deadly alien creature through a claustrophobic environment. Forbidden Planet (1956) gave O'Bannon the idea of a ship being warned not to land, and then the crew being killed one by one by a mysterious creature when they defy the warning. Planet of the Vampires (1965) contains a scene in which the heroes discover a giant alien skeleton; this influenced the Nostromo crew's discovery of the alien creature in the derelict spacecraft. O'Bannon has also noted the influence of "Junkyard" (1953), a short story by Clifford D. Simak in which a crew lands on an asteroid and discovers a chamber full of eggs. He has also cited as influences Strange Relations by Philip José Farmer (1960), which covers alien reproduction, and various EC Comics horror titles carrying stories in which monsters eat their way out of people.

With roughly eighty-five percent of the plot completed, Shusett and O'Bannon presented their initial script to several studios, pitching it as "Jaws in space."They were on the verge of signing a deal with Roger Corman's studio when a friend offered to find them a better deal and passed the script on to Walter Hill, David Giler, and Gordon Carroll, who had formed a production company called Brandywine with ties to 20th Century Fox. O'Bannon and Shusett signed a deal with Brandywine, but Hill and Giler were not satisfied with the script and made numerous rewrites and revisions to it. This caused tension with O'Bannon and Shusett, since Hill and Giler had very little experience with science fiction and according to Shusett: "They weren't good at making it better, or in fact at not making it even worse." O'Bannon believed that they were attempting to justify taking his name off of the script and claiming it as their own.Hill and Giler did add some substantial elements to the story, however, including the android character Ash which O'Bannon felt was an unnecessary subplot, but which Shusett later described as "one of the best things in the movie...That whole idea and scenario was theirs." In total Hill and Giler went through eight different drafts of the script, mostly concentrating on the Ash subplot but also making the dialogue more natural and trimming some sequences set on the alien planetoid.
 

Despite the multiple rewrites, 20th Century Fox did not express confidence in financing a science fiction film. However, after the success of Star Wars in 1977 the studio's interest in the genre rose substantially. According to Carroll: "When Star Wars came out and was the extraordinary hit that it was, suddenly science fiction became the hot genre." O'Bannon recalled that "They wanted to follow through on Star Wars, and they wanted to follow through fast, and the only spaceship script they had sitting on their desk was Alien". Alien was greenlit by 20th Century Fox at an initial budget of $4.2 million.

 

Direction and design

 

Director Ridley Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H. R. Giger designed and worked on the Alien and its accompanying elements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O'Bannon had originally assumed that he would direct Alien, but 20th Century Fox instead asked Hill to direct. Hill declined due to other film commitments as well as not being comfortable with the level of visual effects that would be required.Peter Yates, Jack Clayton, and Robert Aldrich were considered for the task, but O'Bannon, Shusett, and the Brandywine team felt that these directors would not take the film seriously and would instead treat it as a B monster movie. Giler, Hill, and Carroll had been impressed by Ridley Scott's debut feature film The Duellists (1977) and made an offer to him to direct Alien, which Scott quickly accepted. Scott created detailed storyboards for the film in London, which impressed 20th Century Fox enough to double the film's budget from $4.2 million to $8.4 million. His storyboards included designs for the spaceship and space suits, drawing influences from films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars. However, he was keen on emphasizing horror in Alien rather than fantasy, describing the film as "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre of science fiction".
 

O'Bannon introduced Scott to the artwork of H. R. Giger; both of them felt that his painting Necronom IV was the type of representation they wanted for the film's antagonist and began asking the studio to hire him as a designer.20th Century Fox initially believed Giger's work was too ghastly for audiences, but the Brandywine team were persistent and eventually won out. According to Gordon Carroll: "The first second that Ridley saw Giger's work, he knew that the biggest single design problem, maybe the biggest problem in the film, had been solved." Scott flew to Zürich to meet Giger and recruited him to work on all aspects of the Alien and its environment including the surface of the planetoid, the derelict spacecraft, and all four forms of the Alien from the egg to the adult.

O'Bannon brought in artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss (with whom he had worked on Dark Star and Dune, respectively) to work on designs for the human aspects of the film such as the spaceship and space suits. Cobb created hundreds of preliminary sketches of the interiors and exteriors of the ship, which went through many design concepts and possible names such as Leviathan and Snark as the script continued to develop. The final name of the ship was derived from the title of Joseph Conrad's 1904 novel Nostromo, while the escape shuttle, called Narcissus in the script, was named after Conrad's 1897 novella The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'. The production team particularly praised Cobb's ability to depict the interior settings of the ship in a realistic and believable manner. Under Ridley Scott's direction the design of the Nostromo shifted towards an 800-foot (240 m)-long tug towing a refining platform 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide. Cobb also created some conceptual drawings of the Alien, but these were not used. Moebius was attached to the project for a few days as well, and his costume renderings served as the basis for the final space suits created by costume designer John Mollo.

 

Casting

Casting calls and auditions for Alien were held in both New York and London.With only seven human characters in the story, Scott sought to hire strong actors so he could focus most of his energy on the film's visual style. He employed casting director Mary Selway, who had worked with him on The Duellists, to head the casting in the United Kingdom, while Mary Goldberg handled casting in the United States.In developing the story O'Bannon had focused on writing the Alien first, putting off developing the characters for a later draft. He and Shusett had therefore written all of the roles as generic males with a note in the script explicitly stating "The crew is unisex and all parts are interchangeable for men or women."This left Scott, Selway, and Goldberg free to interpret the characters as they liked and to cast accordingly. They wanted the Nostromo's crew to resemble working astronauts in a realistic environment, a concept summed up as "truckers in space".According to Scott, this concept was inspired partly by Star Wars, which deviated from the pristine future often depicted in science fiction films of the time

 

Xenomorph

Bolaji Badejo as The Alien. A Nigerian design student, Badejo was discovered in a bar by a member of the casting team, who put him in touch with Ridley Scott. Scott believed that Badejo, at 7 feet 2 inches (218 cm) and with a slender frame, could portray the Alien and look as if his arms and legs were too long to be real, creating the illusion that there could not possibly be a human being inside the costume. Stuntmen Eddie Powell and Roy Scammell also portrayed the Alien in some scenes.

 

 

crew of the nostromo 

LAMBERT

Veronica Cartwright as Lambert, the Nostromo's navigator. Cartwright had previous experience in horror and science fiction films, having acted in The Birds (1963) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).She originally read for the role of Ripley, and was not informed that she had instead been cast as Lambert until she arrived in London for wardrobe. She disliked the character's emotional weakness,but nevertheless accepted the role: "They convinced me that I was the audience's fears; I was a reflection of what the audience is feeling." Cartwright won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance

 

LAMBERT, J.M
Navigator, USCSS Nostromo
Sex: Female [Natural]
DoB: 7 November 2093
PoB: Ontario/Canada-UA

 

Lambert is the navigator on the Nostromo and she is one of the three explorers to investigate the alien craft. When the alien is loose on the Nostromo and killing it seems impossible, it is Lambert who recommends blowing up the ship and making their escape in the shuttle.

 

12 May 2112
Graduates Ontario University with Masters of Astro-Cartography.

1 June 2112 – 18 September 2112
Interns in Astro-Cartography Dept. at Ridton Corp. London/EU-UK.

7 October 2112
Marries Xander Chapman, Director of Astro-Cartography, Ridton Corp.

28 October 2112 – 5 February 2114
Serves as Shipping Lane Trafficator for Farside Lunar Mining, [Plymouth/Luna-UA].

10 February 2114
Divorces Xander Chapman, former Director of Astro-Cartography, Ridton Corp.

17 February - 6 December 2114
Serves as Assistant Navigator on Red Star Lines pleasure cruiser Infinity, [Mars-Orion route] [Flight Status C].

29 January 2115 – 1 August 2118
Serves as Navigator/Comm Officer on Ridton Corp salvage vessel Leggatt, under Captain Leigh.

13 September 2118
Marries Lordan Hessutt, Executive Officer on Ridton Corp salvage vessel Leggatt.

3 January 2120
Divorces Lordan Hessutt, Executive Officer on Ridton Corp salvage vessel Leggatt.
11 October 2118 – 19 December 2119
Serves as Navigator on Weyland Yutani scout ship Adowa, under Captain Payne, [Flight Status BC].

5 January 2120 – Present
Serves as Navigator on Weyland Yutani towing vessel USCSS Nostromo, under Captain Dallas, [Flight Status B].

Lambert: Lambert’s Alien Anthology profile adds nothing too much of note, aside from one thing: “Despin Convert at birth [male to female], so far no indication of suppressed traumas related to gender alteration.” It seems that in the future parents-to-be can change the sex of their child in-utero. Lambert seems to have been a male for some time in the womb, before her sex was changed. Smells more like a small joke than anything that adds to the overall Alien mythos. The ”so far no indication of suppressed traumas related to gender alteration” seems like a gag on Lambert’s pretty famous disposition throughout the events of Alien.

ASH
Ian Holm as Ash, the ship's Science Officer who is revealed to be an android under orders to bring the Alien back to the Nostromo's corporate employers. Holm, a character actor who by 1979 had already been in twenty films, was the most experienced actor cast for Alien.

 

ASH

Science Officer, USCSS Nostromo
Sex: Male
Ash is a science officer on the Nostromo and he is the only one who knows the company’s motives in sending the crew of the Nostromo to investigate the derelict spacecraft. He studies the alien for the Company’s Bio-Weapons Division and is ordered to keep it alive for return to Earth, no matter what the cost to the other crew members
FILE UNDER REPAIR, ACCESS RESTRICTED

No Further enhancement by order of Weyland Yutani Weapons Division. WY/SCE-REF#0102/BG/E9
Updated 10 Jun 2121:
10 June 2121 – Present
Assigned as Science Officer on Weyland Yutani commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo, under Captain Dallas, [Flight Status A].
SPECIAL ORDER 937.
[In a nice display of attention, the Alien Anthology's date of Ash being assigned to the Nostromo before departing Thedus coincides with the amount of days Dallas ascribes in Alien. Two days, that is. Assignment date according to Legacy: 10 June, Nostromo departs according to Anthology: 12 June.]

Ash: Ash’s profile is typically bare: ”Subject is science officer grade M-1 and has been operational for 4 years. Previous history and personal data are classified from normal Company personnel access due to the scientific nature of subject’s previous assignments”. Ridley said in one interview: ”I told him [Ian Holm] what university he [Ash] attended, what he read in, where he was born, and so forth.” However, Ash’s back story remains, of course, a cover story, as Ridley clarified that, Ash is aware of his android identity “in this instance

KANE
John Hurt as Kane, the Executive Officer who becomes the host for the Alien. Hurt was Scott's first choice for the role but was contracted on a film in South Africa during Alien's filming dates, so Jon Finch was cast as Kane instead. However, Finch became ill during the first day of shooting and was diagnosed with severe diabetes, which had also exacerbated a case of bronchitis. Hurt was in London by this time, his South African project having fallen through, and he quickly replaced Finch. His performance earned him a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

 

KANE, G.W.

Executive Officer USCSS Nostromo
Sex: Male [Natural]
Nat: United Kingdom/EU [Dual]
DoB: 20 April 2083
PoB: Borehamwood/Herts-UK/EU

 

Kane is an engineer on the Nostromo and he is one of the crewmembers to investigate the alien craft. While reporting to Kane and Dallas on what he sees in the nest of eggs, he is attacked by the facehugger which is then brought back to the Nostromo in the crew’s attempt to save his life.

 

11 September 2096 – 23 May 2100
Attends Weatherly Private School. Graduates with honours.

19 September 2100 – 30 May 2104
Attends Gunning Foss Military School. Graduates at top of his class.

6 September 2104 – 13 February 2108
Attends Bryce-Watkins Medical University. Expelled for substance abuse. Treated for drug-inflicted embolism and stress. Treatment successful, [Medscan CERT#81712F].

16 September 2109 – 18 May 2112
Attends Wellington Academy, [Suffolk]. Graduates with Masters of Engineering, [Flight Status C].

14 December 2115 – 29 October 2117
Serves as Mission Analyst on UK/EU colonial expedition in the Outer Rim territories, [Flight Status B].

1 November 2117 – 19 December 2118
Serves as First Officer on UK/EU colonial transport vessel HMS Sabretooth, under Captain Lai, [Flight Status BA].

21 September 2118 – 19 December 2119
Serves as Executive Officer on Weyland Yutani salvage vessel USCSS Kenamor, under Captain Kahn, [Flight Status AB].

5 Jan 2120 – Present
Serves as Executive Officer on Weyland Yutani commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo, under Captain Dallas, [Flight Status A].

Kane: Kane is described as having worked for several medical starships, such as the ”UKMS OUTREACH, class 12 hospital ship, crew of 14, 9 transits, United Kingdom Socialist Medical Authority Colonial Bureau”. All of Kane’s schools are the same as the Legacy, though the attendance dates differ by a couple of years. His birth is 28 March 2081 in the Anthology, 20 April 2083 in the Legacy.

“Subject is highly idealistic overachiever … under pressure at medical school, subject abused medication and caused an embolism with hospitalised subject … after psych evaluation at Man Hadley’s medical clinic, subject responded to career therapy and chose to study for a commercial pilots licence. After achieving it, subject became Executive Officer on a British hospital ship but again succumbed to drug abuse and was removed from position for re-evaluation … Subject may self-medicate with commercially made alcohol … treatment proved successful and subject was rated operational for duty again.
WARNING: Subject still exhibits high level of idealism and at this time his impulsiveness makes him a poor candidate for full command. Recommended that further diagnosis should be undertaken before upgrading subject further

 

PARKER

Yaphet Kotto as Parker, the Chief Engineer. Kotto, an African American, was chosen partly to add diversity to the cast and give the Nostromo crew an international flavor. Kotto was sent a script off the back of his recent success with Live and Let Die, although it was some time and deliberation between Kotto and his agent before he was offered the part.

 

 

PARKER, J.T.
Chief Engineer, USCSS Nostromo
Sex: Male [Natural]
Nat: United Americas
DoB: 4 February, 2080
PoB: San Diego/California-UA

 

As Engineer, Parker, along with Brett, is responsible for repairing the ship when it is damaged during the drop to Acheron. Both he and Brett are only interested in making as much money as they can and complain loudly when the ship comes out of hyperspace early, as they want to be paid extra. He is convinced by Ripley and Lambert that they should destroy the ship and take their chances in the shuttle.

 

14 September 2100 – 6 October 2104
Works as pit mechanic for Speedy Maxx high-speed terrafoil racing team. Travels the DAC racing circuit. Quits pit crew over salary dispute.
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9 Jan 2105 – 14 June 2107
Recruited into United Americas Outer Rim Defense Fleet, stationed at Skyfire Down, [Rank: Private]. Serves as mechanic of heavy land transport vehicles and officer shuttles.

14 June 2107 – 1 August 2107
Promoted to Corporal. Serves as chief mechanic at Skyfire Down UAORD base.

1 August 2107 – 21 February 2108
Captured by J’har Rebels during Torin Prime Civil War. Imprisoned at Concentration Camp GR-161. Establishes underground black market for POWs.

21 February 2108
Escapes from Concentration Camp GR-161 during the Liberation of Torin Prime. Constructs emergency escape vehicle [EEV] from scrap.

20 October 2108
Receives honourable discharge from UAORD.

19 December 2108
Returns to Earth. No Further Enhancement.

5 September 2109 – 29 March 2113
Attends San Diego School of Astro-Engineering. Studies incomplete. No degree awarded.

2 October 2113 – 13 December 2113
Freelances as mechanic/engineer for Mexcorp, serving on various unauthorised medicinal cargo ops. No further enhancement.

7 January 2114 – 29 April 2115
Serves as Assistant Engineer at United Americas Accelerator Threshold, Neptune.

5 May 2115 – 19 October 2117
Serves as Assistant Engineer on Weyland Yutani commercial cargo vehicle USCSS Otago, under Captain Mortensen.

27 October 2117 – 1 September 2120
Serves as Engineer on Weyland Yutani commercial vessel USCSS Nonnabo, under Captain Keeney, [Flight Status C].

10 September 2120 – Present
Serves as Engineer on Weyland Yutani commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo, under Captain Dallas.


DALLAS

Tom Skerritt as Dallas, the Captain of the Nostromo. Skerritt had been approached early in the film's development but declined as it did not yet have a director and had a very low budget. Later, when Scott was attached as director and the budget had been doubled, Skerritt accepted the role of Dallas.

 

DALLAS, A.J.

Captain, USCSS Nostromo
Sex: Male [Natural]
Nat: United Americas
Dob: 27 February, 2076
PoB: Wolf Point, Montana-UA.

 

As Captain of the Nostromo, it is Dallas who is told by ‘Mother’, the central computer, to reroute to the barren planet and investigate the distress signal. He takes Kane and Lambert with him to investigate the derelict spacecraft, and is the first to volunteer to hunt the alien in the Nostromo

 

15 May 2099
Graduates Mercerton Flight Academy, [Flight Status C].

11 March 2100 – 9 January 2103
Serves as Navigator/Pilot on USCSS Snark salvage vessel, under Captain Van Shuyten, [Flight Status B]

23 January 2103 – 4 December 2105
Serves as Pilot on UTX Ganymede military cargo vessel, under Captain Britten.

1 June 2106
Commissioned into United Americas Outer Rim Defense Fleet. Stationed at Liberty Echo, [Rank: Lieutenant].

12 June 2106 – 17 February 2108
Serves as Pilot on UAS Leviathan fast attack vessel, under Major Baines during Torin Prime Civil War, [Flight Status A].

23 February 2108
Promoted to Captain following Liberation of Torin Prime. Receives the Sunburst Medal of Honour for meritorious service.

1 March 2108
Given command of UAS Archangel troop carrier, [Flight Status A]

25 December 2109
UAS Archangel destroyed in enemy attack during peace-keeping operation on Thedus, 15,293 lives lost. Ship unsalvageable, [Flight Status Suspended].

3 Jan 2110
Receives Dishonourable Discharge from UAORD. [Flight Status Revoked].

4 Jan 2110 – 28 April 2113
Whereabouts unknown. No further enhancement.

28 April 2113 – 9 September 2113
Smuggles weapons and medical supplies into the Solomons on civilian cargo vessel The Vider, under Captain Joshua.

14 December 2113 – 4 May 2114
Freelances special transport ops of hazardous materials for Weyland Yutani in the Solomons, [Probationary Flight Status D]

21 July 2114 – 3 December 2118
Purchases civilian cargo vessel Tremolino. Freelances cargo and transport ops for Weyland Yutani throughout the Outer Rim Territories, [Flight Status C].

7 December 2119
Tremolino decommissioned. Crew disbanded.

4 January 2120 – Present
Given command of Weyland Yutani commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo, [Fight Status B].

Dallas: According to the Anthology’s profile for Dallas: “Preliminary assessment of psych profile indicates subject’s hostility to authority had been sublimated in such a way as to cause a mild psychosis related to performing executive officer duties. Since the subject’s GMA should have risen with escalation of rank, it was determined that a retesting and orientation treatment was due. However, continuity in employment was disrupted 2/17/34.”

 

BRETT

Harry Dean Stanton as Brett, the Engineering Technician. Stanton's first words to Scott during his audition were "I don't like sci fi or monster movies." Scott was amused and convinced Stanton to take the role after reassuring him that Alien would actually be a thriller more akin to Ten Little Indians.

 

BRETT, S.E.
Engineering Tech, USCSS Nostromo
Sex: Male [Natural]
Nat: United Americas
DoB: 13th July 2069
PoB: Houston/Texas-UA

 

Brett and Parker are responsible for making repairs to the Nostromo. Once the alien is loose on the Nostromo, Brett is also responsible for creating the weapons the crew uses when they try to track and kill it.

21 June 2085 – 10 May 2094
Works as mechanic for family business [E-Z-FLY Spacecraft Repair, Houston/Texas-UA].

15 May 2094 – 21 Dec 2095
Works as hardware specialist for Solari Energy Corp at Osaka solar energy plant. Employment terminated, [SEC/REF#1288-7G].

1 February – 16 July 2096
Pilots high-speed cargo vehicles for Ridton Corp through Iranistan war zone. Employment suspended, [RC/REF#24901-N]

18 July 2096 – 4 December 2096
Receives treatment for alcoholism at Ridton Medical Facility, [London]. Treatment successful, [Medscan CERT#34008N].

15 September 2097 – 21 October 2101
Attends Houston School of Astrophysics and Interstellar Engineering. Graduates.

14 July 2108 – 9 November 2111
Serves as Assistant Engineer on Weyland Yutani waste disposal vessel USCSS Corazon Oscuro, under Captain Speight, [Flight Status C].

10 November 2011
Fails blood alcohol test. Flight status suspended.

9 January 2112
Undergoes cerebral detox procedure at Weyland Yutani Medical Facility, Titan. Minor complications arise. See Medical [Brain Damage] for further enhancement.

9 January 2112 – 31 March 2113
Undergoes therapeutic recuperation at Weyland Yutani Medical Facility, Titan.

3 April 2113
Passes Weyland Yutani Ment/Psych/Cog-5 exam. Flight status restored. Cleared for assignment.

19 April 2113 – 28 October 2117
Serves as Assistant Engineering Tech at Weyland-Yutani Fusion Reactor Facility on Titan.

3 November 2117 – 1 September 2120
Serves as Engineering Tech on Weyland Yutani commercial cargo vehicle USCSS Nonnabo, under Captain Keeney.

10 September 2120 – Present
Serves as Engineering Tech on Weyland Yutani commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo, under Captain Dallas.

Brett: According to the Anthology, Brett’s had quite the troubled life, and “exhibited passive responses to violent childhood memories when given the Steiner/Korngold GMF Analysis, which indicates reversal and sublimination of hostility. In subject’s case, condition requires no external treatment strategies because self-adjustment had been obtained during company training procedures and due to friendship formed between subject and another company employee [Parker]. Passivity behaviour van be a positive factor on extended up mode transits. Subject’s performance ratings remained static throughout company assignment.

SPECIAL NOTE: Subject was remanded to company employment from US Federal Rehabilitation Program for Displaced Youth, or FREPDISY/subject committed a level 8 felony when 17.”

RIPLEY
Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the warrant officer aboard the Nostromo. The decision to make the lead character a woman was made by Giler and Hill, who felt this would help Alien stand out in the otherwise male-dominated genre of science fiction. Weaver, who had Broadway experience but was relatively unknown in film, impressed Scott, Giler, and Hill with her audition. She was the last actor to be cast for the film, and performed most of her screen tests in-studio as the sets were being built. The role of Ripley was Weaver's first leading role in a motion picture, and earned her nominations for a Saturn Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Role.

 

RIPLEY, E.L.

Warrant Officer USCSS Nostromo
Sex: Female [Natural]
Nat: United Americas
DoB: 7 January, 2092
PoB: Olympia/Luna-UA

 

Warrant Officer Ripley is the iron-willed woman destined to battle the galaxy’s ultimate creature. She makes logical decisions and tries to prevent Kane’s return to the Nostromo while he is still under the control of the facehugger for fear that he could infect the rest of the crew. She also consults the ship’s main computer to search for a way to kill the alien and, in her determination to survive, does not accept Ash’s conclusion there is no escape.

 

Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the warrant officer aboard the Nostromo. The decision to make the lead character a woman was made by Giler and Hill, who felt this would help Alien stand out in the otherwise male-dominated genre of science fiction.Weaver, who had Broadway experience but was relatively unknown in film, impressed Scott, Giler, and Hill with her audition. She was the last actor to be cast for the film, and performed most of her screen tests in-studio as the sets were being built.The role of Ripley was Weaver's first leading role in a motion picture, and earned her nominations for a Saturn Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Role.

 

7 Jan 2094 – 18 April 2110
Spends childhood in lunar quarantine facility during outbreak of XMB virus on Luna. tests negative for XMB, [Medscan CERT#90156E].

15 Sept 2111 – 25 May 2115
Attend Evansbrook Academy. Shows aptitude for ethics, law, and corporate affairs. Graduates at top of her class.

1 June 2115
Recruited into Weyland Yutani’s Horizon Beyond officer training programme, [Trainee Flight Status CC].

16 Oct 2115
Successfully negotiates end to hostage crisis on Weyland Yutani shuttle craft Erebus. 49 lives saved. 8 terrorists convicted.

21 December 2116
Completes Horizons Beyond officer training programme, with honours.

2 January 2117 – 19 November 2117
Serves as Junior Warrant Officer on commercial vessel USCSS Kurtz, under Captain Archbold, [Flight Status BC].

1 December 2117 – 8 March 2118
Serves as Warrant Officer on Weyland Yutani cargo vessel USCSS Sephoria, under Captain Eliot.

10 March 2118
Request for maternity leave denied, [WY/REF#295150] See Human Resources for further enhancement.

17 March 2118
Files civil lawsuit against Weyland Yutani, [WY/REF#29162]

18 March 2118
Flight Status Suspended. Salary suspended.

4 April 2118 – 19 August 2118
File sealed under court order. No further enhancement, [WY/REF#42009]

19 August 2118
Request for maternity leave approved, [WY/REF#42017] See Legal [Settlements] for further enhancements. Request for reinstatement of flight status approved [WY/REF#42018]. Request for salary increase approved, [WY/REF#42019].

19 Sept – 27 Oct 2119
Maternity Leave. See Human Resources for further enhancement.

6 November 2119 – 12 July 2120
Serves as Warrant Officer on Weyland Yutani cargo vehicle USCSS Sotillo, under Captain Rosendo.

August 2120 – Present.
Serves as Warrant Officer on Weyland Yutani commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo, under Captain Dallas, [Flight Status B].

 

Ripley: Ripley’s schooling is listed as “New York Aeronautics University … Boya Private School … Brea-Olinda Private School Los Angeles.”
“Performance ratings exceed average ratings of warrant officers in fleet. Due to highly motivated bio-environmental factors in subject’s childhood, prognosis for promotion to highest rank obtainable is probable …
AMENDMENT: Subject violated bylaw 87-B of company regulations by allowing natural pregnancy to come to terms during layover between hauls. After a committee review of the situation, subject was allowed to continue employment under certain mutually agreed upon conditions …
AMENDMENT: Subject asked for contraction re-negotiations under bylaw 17-G, related to intention to take two leave of absence prior to assignment to USCS Nostromo. After intensive contractual talks with subject’s lawyers, a compromise was arrived at wherein subject would accept duty on Nostromo and subsequently take leave of absence for personal reasons … Subject intends to spend more time with child. Psych profiles and Sylan-Donovan Curves register high level of guilt over lack of contact with child.”.

Set design and filming

Alien was filmed over fourteen weeks from July 5 to October 21, 1978. Principal photography took place at Shepperton Studios in London, while model and miniature filming was done at Bray Studios in Water Oakley.Production time was short due to the film's low budget and pressure from 20th Century Fox to finish on schedule.A crew of over 200 workmen and technicians constructed the three principal sets: The surface of the alien planetoid and the interiors of the Nostromo and derelict spacecraft. Art Director Les Dilley created 1/24th scale miniatures of the planetoid's surface and derelict spacecraft based on Giger's designs, then made moulds and casts and scaled them up as diagrams for the wood and fiberglass forms of the sets. Tons of sand, plaster, fiberglass, rock, and gravel were shipped into the studio to sculpt a desert landscape for the planetoid's surface, which the actors would walk across wearing space suit costumes. The suits themselves were thick, bulky, and lined with nylon, had no cooling systems and, initially, no venting for their exhaled carbon dioxide to escape. Combined with a heat wave, these conditions nearly caused the actors to pass out and nurses had to be kept on-hand with oxygen tanks to help keep them going. For scenes showing the exterior of the Nostromo a 58-foot (18 m) landing leg was constructed to give a sense of the ship's size. Ridley Scott still did not think that it looked large enough, so he had his two sons and the son of one of the cameramen stand in for the regular actors, wearing smaller space suits to make the set pieces seem larger.The same technique was used for the scene in which the crew members encounter the dead alien creature in the derelict spacecraft. The children nearly collapsed due to the heat of the suits, and eventually oxygen systems were added to assist the actors in breathing.

The sets of the Nostromo's three decks were each created almost entirely in one piece, with each deck occupying a separate stage and the various rooms connected via corridors. To move around the sets the actors had to navigate through the hallways of the ship, adding to the film's sense of claustrophobia and realism. The sets used large transistors and low-resolution computer screens to give the ship a "used", industrial look and make it appear as though it was constructed of "retrofitted old technology". Ron Cobb created industrial-style symbols and color-coded signs for various areas and aspects of the ship. The company that owns the Nostromo is not named in the film, and is referred to by the characters as "the company". However, the name and logo of "Weylan-Yutani" appears on several set pieces and props such as computer monitors and beer cans. Cobb created the name to imply a business alliance between Britain and Japan, deriving "Weylan" from the British Leyland Motor Corporation and "Yutani" from the name of his Japanese neighbor.The 1986 sequel Aliens named the company as "Weyland-Yutani", and it has remained a central aspect of the film franchise.

Art Director Roger Christian used scrap metal and parts to create set pieces and props to save money, a technique he employed while working on Star Wars. Some of the Nostromo's corridors were created from portions of scrapped bomber aircraft, and a mirror was used to create the illusion of longer corridors in the below-deck area. Special effects supervisors Brian Johnson and Nick Allder made many of the set pieces and props function, including moving chairs, computer monitors, motion trackers, and flamethrowers.Four identical cats were used to portray Jones, the Nostromo crew's pet. During filming Sigourney Weaver discovered that she was allergic to the combination of cat hair and the glycerin placed on the actors' skin to make them appear sweaty. By removing the glycerin she was able to continue working with the cats.

 

Giger airbrushed the "space jockey" set by hand. Children stood in for the regular actors to make the set seem larger on screen. It was redressed to double as the egg chamber.

 

H. R. Giger designed and worked on all of the alien aspects of the film, which he designed to appear organic and biomechanical in contrast to the industrial look of the Nostromo and its human elements. For the interior of the derelict spacecraft and egg chamber he used dried bones together with plaster to sculpt much of the scenery and elements. Veronica Cartwright described Giger's sets as "so erotic...it's big vaginas and penises...the whole thing is like you're going inside of some sort of womb or whatever...it's sort of visceral".The set with the deceased alien creature, which the production team nicknamed the "space jockey", proved problematic as 20th Century Fox did not want to spend the money for such an expensive set that would only be used for one scene. Ridley Scott described the set as the cockpit or driving deck of the mysterious ship, and the production team was able to convince the studio that the scene was important to impress the audience and make them aware that this was not a B movie.To save money only one wall of the set was created, and the "space jockey" sat atop a disc that could be rotated to facilitate shots from different angles in relation to the actors.Giger airbrushed the entire set and the "space jockey" by hand.

The origin of the jockey creature was not explored in the film, but Scott later theorized that it might have been the ship's pilot, and that the ship might have been a weapons carrier capable of dropping Alien eggs onto a planet so that the Aliens could use the local lifeforms as hosts.In early versions of the script the eggs were to be located in a separate pyramid structure which would be found later by the Nostromo crew and would contain statues and hieroglyphs depicting the Alien reproductive cycle, offering a contrast of the human, Alien, and space jockey cultures. Cobb, Foss, and Giger each created concept artwork for these sequences, but they were eventually discarded due to budgetary concerns and the need to trim the length of the film.Instead the egg chamber was set inside the derelict ship and was filmed on the same set as the space jockey scene; the entire disc piece supporting the jockey and its chair were removed and the set was redressed to create the egg chamber. Light effects in the egg chamber were created by lasers borrowed from English rock band The Who. The band was testing the lasers for use in their stage show in the sound stage next door.

Alien originally was to conclude with the destruction of the Nostromo while Ripley escapes in the shuttle Narcissus. However, Ridley Scott conceived of a "fourth act" to the film in which the Alien appears on the shuttle and Ripley is forced to confront it. He pitched the idea to 20th Century Fox and negotiated an increase in the budget to film the scene over several extra days.Scott had wanted the Alien to bite off Ripley's head and then make the final log entry in her voice, but the producers vetoed this idea as they believed that the Alien had to die at the end of the film.

 

Special effects and creature design

Spaceships and planets

 

Ridley Scott filming model shots of the Nostromo and its attached ore refinery. He made slow passes filming at 2½ frames per second to give the models the appearance of motion.

 

 

 

The spaceships and planets for the film were shot using models and miniatures. These included models of the Nostromo, its attached mineral refinery, the escape shuttle Narcissus, the alien planetoid, and the exterior and interior of the derelict spacecraft. Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Johnson, supervising modelmaker Martin Bower, and their team worked at Bray Studios, roughly 30 miles (48 km) from Shepperton Studios where principal filming was taking place.The designs of the Nostromo and its attachments were based on combinations of Ridley Scott's storyboards and Ron Cobb's conceptual drawings. The basic outlines of the models were made of wood and plastic, and most of the fine details were added from model kits of battleships, tanks, and World War II bombers. Three models of the Nostromo were made: a 12-inch (30 cm) version for medium and long shots, a 4-foot (1.2 m) version for rear shots, and a 12-foot (3.7 m), 7-short-ton (6.4 t) rig for the undocking and planetoid surface sequences. Scott insisted on numerous changes to the models even as filming was taking place, leading to conflicts with the modeling and filming teams. The Nostromo was originally yellow, and the team filmed shots of the models for six weeks before Johnson left to work on The Empire Strikes Back. Scott then ordered it changed to gray, and the team had to begin shooting again from scratch. He ordered more and more pieces added to the model until the final large version with the refinery required a metal framework so that it could be lifted by a forklift. He also took a hammer and chisel to sections of the refinery, knocking off many of its spires which Bower had spent weeks creating. Scott also had disagreements with lighting technician Denny Ayling over how to light the models.

A separate model, approximately 40 feet (12 m) long, was created for the Nostromo's underside from which the Narcissus would detach and from which Kane's body would be launched during the funeral scene. Bower carved Kane's burial shroud out of wood and it was launched through the hatch using a small catapult and filmed at high speed, then slowed down in editing.Only one shot was filmed using blue screen compositing: that of the shuttle racing past the Nostromo. The other shots were simply filmed against black backdrops, with stars added via double exposure.Though motion control photography technology was available at the time, the film's budget would not allow for it. The team therefore used a camera with wide-angle lenses mounted on a drive mechanism to make slow passes over and around the models filming at 2½ frames per second,giving them the appearance of motion. Scott added smoke and wind effects to enhance the illusion.For the scene in which the Nostromo detaches from the refinery, a 30-foot (9.1 m) docking arm was created using pieces from model railway kits. The Nostromo was pushed away from the refinery by the forklift, which was covered in black velvet, causing the arm to extend out from the refinery. This created the illusion that the arm was pushing the ship forward. Shots from outside the ship in which the characters are seen through windows moving around inside were filmed using larger models which contained projection screens showing pre-recorded footage.

A separate model was created for the exterior of the derelict alien spacecraft. Matte paintings were used to fill in areas of the ship's interior as well as exterior shots of the planetoid's surface.The surface as seen from space during the landing sequence was created by painting a globe white, then mixing chemicals and dyes onto transparencies and projecting them onto it.The planetoid was not named in the film, but some drafts of the script gave it the name Acheron after the river which in Greek mythology is described as the "stream of woe", a branch of the river Styx, and which forms the border of Hell in Dante's Inferno. The 1986 sequel Aliens named the planetoid as "LV-426", and both names have been used for it in subsequent expanded universe media such as comic books and video games. In Alien the planetoid is said to be located somewhere in the Zeta² Reticuli system.

 

Egg and facehugger

The scene of Kane inspecting the egg was shot during post-production. A fiberglass egg was used so that actor John Hurt could shine his light on it and see movement inside, which was provided by Ridley Scott fluttering his hands inside the egg while wearing rubber gloves.The top of the egg opened via hydraulics, and the innards were made of a cow's stomach and tripe. Initial test shots of the eggs were filmed using hen's eggs, and this footage was used in early teaser trailers. For this reason a hen's egg was used as the primary image for the film's advertising poster, and became a lasting image for the series as a whole rather than the Alien egg that actually appears in the film.

The "facehugger" and its proboscis, which was made of a sheep's intestine, were shot out of the egg using high-pressure air hoses. The shot was acted out and filmed in reverse, then reversed and slowed down in editing to prolong the effect and show more detail.The facehugger itself was the first creature that Giger designed for the film, going through several versions in different sizes before deciding on a small creature with humanlike fingers and a long tail. Dan O'Bannon drew his own version based on Giger's design, with help from Ron Cobb, which became the final version. Cobb came up with the idea that the creature could have a powerful acid for blood, a characteristic that would carry over to the adult Alien and would make it impossible for the crew to kill it by conventional means such as guns or explosives, since the acid would burn through the ship's hull. For the scene in which the dead facehugger is examined, Scott used pieces of fish and shellfish to create its viscera.

 

The "facehugger" was the first creature Giger designed for the film, giving it human-like fingers and a long tail

 

egg chamber in the direlict ship






Chestburster

The design of the "chestburster" was inspired by Francis Bacon's 1944 painting Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. Giger's original design resembled a plucked chicken, which was redesigned and refined into the final version seen onscreen. Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon credits his experiences with Crohn's disease for inspiring the chest-busting scene.

 

The "chestburster" was shoved up through the table and a false torso by a puppeteer. The scene has been recognized as one of the film's most memorable.

 

The design of the "chestburster" was inspired by Francis Bacon's 1944 painting Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. Giger's original design resembled a plucked chicken, which was redesigned and refined into the final version seen onscreen. Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon credits his experiences with Crohn's disease for inspiring the chest-busting scene.

For the filming of the chestburster scene the cast members knew that the creature would be bursting out of Hurt, and had seen the chestburster puppet, but they had not been told that fake blood would also be bursting out in every direction from high-pressure pumps and squibs. The scene was shot in one take using an artificial torso filled with blood and viscera, with Hurt's head and arms coming up from underneath the table. The chestburster was shoved up through the torso by a puppeteer who held it on a stick. When the creature burst through the chest a stream of blood shot directly at Veronica Cartwright, shocking her enough that she fell over and went into hysterics. According to Tom Skerritt: "What you saw on camera was the real response. She had no idea what the hell happened. All of a sudden this thing just came up." The creature then runs off-camera, an effect accomplished by cutting a slit in the table for the puppeteer's stick to go through and passing an air hose through the puppet's tail to make it whip about.

The real-life surprise of the actors gave the scene an intense sense of realism and made it one of the film's most memorable moments. During preview screenings the crew noticed that some viewers would move towards the back of the theater so as not to be too close to the screen during the sequence. In subsequent years the chestburster scene has often been voted as one of the most memorable moments in film. In 2007, the British film magazine Empire named it as the greatest 18-rated moment in film as part of its "18th birthday" issue, ranking it above the decapitation scene in The Omen (1976) and the transformation sequence in An American Werewolf in London (1981).

 

The Alien

Giger made several conceptual paintings of the adult Alien before crafting the final version. He sculpted the creature's body using plasticine, incorporating pieces such as vertebrae from snakes and cooling tubes from a Rolls-Royce.The creature's head was manufactured separately by Carlo Rambaldi, who had worked on the aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Rambaldi followed Giger's designs closely, making some modifications in order to incorporate the moving parts which would animate the jaw and inner mouth.A system of hinges and cables was used to operate the creature's rigid tongue, which protruded from the main mouth and had a second mouth at the tip of it with its own set of movable teeth. The final head had about nine hundred moving parts and points of articulation.Part of a human skull was used as the "face", and was hidden under the smooth, translucent cover of the head.Rambaldi's original Alien jaw is now on display in the Smithsonian Institution, while in April 2007 the original Alien suit was sold at auction. Copious amounts of K-Y Jelly were used to simulate saliva and to give the Alien an overall slimy appearance. The creature's vocalizations were provided by Percy Edwards, a voice artist famous for providing bird sounds for British television throughout the 1960s and 1970s as well as the whale sounds for Orca: Killer Whale (1977).

 

 

Bolaji Badejo in costume as the Alien. The suit was made of latex, with the head as a separate piece housing the moving parts which controlled the second mouth

For most of the film's scenes the Alien was portrayed by Bolaji Badejo, a Nigerian design student. A latex costume was specifically made to fit Badejo's 7-foot-2-inch (218 cm) slender frame, made by taking a full-body plaster cast of him. Scott later commented that "It's a man in a suit, but then it would be, wouldn't it? It takes on elements of the host – in this case, a man." Badejo attended t'ai chi and mime classes in order to create convincing movements for the Alien. For some scenes, such as when the Alien lowers itself from the ceiling to kill Brett, the creature was portrayed by stuntmen Eddie Powell and Roy Scammell; in that scene a costumed Powell was suspended on wires and then lowered in an unfurling motion.

 

Scott chose not to show the Alien in full through most of the film, showing only pieces of it while keeping most of its body in shadow in order to heighten the sense of terror and suspense. The audience could thus project their own fears into imagining what the rest of the creature might look like:"Every movement is going to be very slow, very graceful, and the Alien will alter shape so you never really know exactly what he looks like." The Alien has been referred to as "one of the most iconic movie monsters in film history" in the decades since the film's release, being noted for its biomechanical appearance and sexual overtones. Roger Ebert has remarked that "Alien uses a tricky device to keep the alien fresh throughout the movie: It evolves the nature and appearance of the creature, so we never know quite what it looks like or what it can do...The first time we get a good look at the alien, as it bursts from the chest of poor Kane (John Hurt). It is unmistakably phallic in shape, and the critic Tim Dirks mentions its 'open, dripping vaginal mouth.

 

Ash

 

For the scene in which Ash is revealed to be an android and has his head knocked off, a puppet was created of the character's torso and upper body which was operated from underneath by a small puppeteer. During a preview screening of the film this scene caused a female usher to faint. In the following scene Ash's head is placed on a table and re-activated; for portions of this scene an animatronic head was made using a face cast of actor Ian Holm.However, the latex of the head shrank while curing and the result was not entirely convincing.For the bulk of the scene Holm knelt under the table with his head coming up through a hole and milk, caviar, pasta, and glass marbles were used to show the android's inner workings and fluids.

 

Music

The musical score for Alien was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, conducted by Lionel Newman, and performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Ridley Scott had originally wanted the film to be scored by Isao Tomita, but 20th Century Fox wanted a more familiar composer and Goldsmith was recommended by then-President of Fox Alan Ladd, Jr. Goldsmith wanted to create a sense of romanticism and lyrical mystery in the film's opening scenes, which would build throughout the film to suspense and fear.Scott did not like Goldsmith's original main title piece, however, so Goldsmith rewrote it as "the obvious thing: weird and strange, and which everybody loved." Another source of tension was editor Terry Rawlings' choice to use pieces of Goldsmith's music from previous films, including a piece from Freud: The Secret Passion, and to use an excerpt from Howard Hanson's Symphony No.2 ("Romantic") for the end credits.

 

 

Jerry Goldsmith composed the music for Alien.

 

Scott and Rawlings had also become attached to several of the musical cues they had used for the temporary score while editing the film, and re-edited some of Goldsmith's cues and re-scored several sequences to match these cues and even left the temporary score in place in some parts of the finished film. Goldsmith later remarked that "you can see that I was sort of like going at opposite ends of the pole with the filmmakers of the picture." Nevertheless, Scott praised Goldsmith's score as "full of dark beauty"and "seriously threatening, but beautiful." It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, a Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album, and a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.The score has been released as a soundtrack album in several versions with different tracks and sequences.

 

Editing

Editing and post-production work on Alien took roughly twenty weeks to complete.Terry Rawlings served as Editor, having previously worked with Scott on editing sound for The Duellists.Scott and Rawlings edited much of the film to have a slow pace to build suspense for the more tense and frightening moments. According to Rawlings: "I think the way we did get it right was by keeping it slow, funny enough, which is completely different from what they do today. And I think the slowness of it made the moments that you wanted people to be sort of scared...then we could go as fast as we liked because you've sucked people into a corner and then attacked them, so to speak. And I think that's how it worked." The first cut of the film was over three hours long; further editing trimmed the final version to just under two hours.

One scene that was cut from the film occurred during Ripley's final escape from the Nostromo: she encounters Dallas and Brett who have been partially cocooned by the Alien. O'Bannon had intended the scene to indicate that Brett was becoming an Alien egg while Dallas was held nearby to be implanted by the resulting facehugger. Production Designer Michael Seymour later suggested that Dallas had "become sort of food for the alien creature",while Ivor Powell suggested that "Dallas is found in the ship as an egg, still alive." Scott remarked that "they're morphing, metamorphosing, they are changing into...being consumed, I guess, by whatever the Alien's organism is...into an egg." The scene was cut partly because it did not look realistic enough and partly because it slowed the pace of the escape sequence. Tom Skerritt remarked that "The picture had to have that pace. Her trying to get the hell out of there, we're all rooting for her to get out of there, and for her to slow up and have a conversation with Dallas was not appropriate." The footage was included amongst other deleted scenes as a special feature on the Laserdisc release of Alien, and a shortened version of it was re-inserted into the 2003 "Director's Cut" which was re-released in theaters and on DVD.

 

Release and reception

An initial screening of Alien for 20th Century Fox representatives in St. Louis suffered from poor sound in the theater. A subsequent screening in a newer theater in Dallas went significantly better, eliciting genuine fright from the audience. Two theatrical trailers were shown to the public. The first consisted of rapidly changing still images set to some of Jerry Goldsmith's electronic music from Logan's Run. The second used test footage of a hen's egg set to part of Goldsmith's Alien score.The film was previewed in various American cities in the spring of 1979 and was promoted by the tagline "In space no one can hear you scream."

Alien was rated "R" in the United States, "X" in the United Kingdom, and "M" in Australia. In the UK, the British Board of Film Classification almost passed the film as an "AA" (for ages 14 and over), although there were concerns over the prevalent sexual imagery. 20th Century Fox eventually relented in pushing for an AA certificate after deciding that an X rating would be a better choice commercially for selling a horror film.

Alien opened in American theaters on May 25, 1979. The film had no formal premiere, yet moviegoers lined up for blocks to see it at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood where a number of models, sets, and props were displayed outside to promote it during its first run. Religious zealots set fire to the model of the space jockey, believing it to be the work of the devil. In the United Kingdom, Alien premiered at a gala performance at the Edinburgh Film Festival on September 1, 1979, before starting an exclusive run at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on September 6, 1979, but it did not open widely in Britain until January 13, 1980.

Critical reaction to the film was initially mixed. Some critics who were not usually favorable towards science fiction, such as Barry Norman of the BBC's Film series, were positive about the film's merits. Others, however, were not: Reviews by Variety, Sight and Sound, Vincent Canby and Leonard Maltin were mixed or negative. A review by Time Out said the film was an "empty bag of tricks whose production values and expensive trickery cannot disguise imaginative poverty".In a 1980 episode of Sneak Previews discussing science fiction films of the 1950s and 1970s, critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were critical of Alien. Ebert called it "basically just an intergalactic haunted house thriller set inside a spaceship" and one of several science fiction pictures that were "real disappointments" compared to Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, though he did compliment the early scene of the Nostromo's crew exploring the alien planet as showing "real imagination".

The film was a commercial success, making $78,900,000 in the United States and £7,886,000 in the United Kingdom during its first run. It ultimately grossed $80,931,801 in the United States and $24,000,000 internationally, bringing its total worldwide gross to $104,931,801.

 

Accolades

 

Alien won the 1979 Academy Award for Visual Effects and was also nominated for Best Art Direction (for Michael Seymour, Leslie Dilley, Roger Christian, and Ian Whittaker). It won Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction for Ridley Scott, and Best Supporting Actress for Veronica Cartwright, and was also nominated in the categories of Best Actress for Sigourney Weaver, Best Make-up for Pat Hay, Best Special Effects for Brian Johnson and Nick Allder, and Best Writing for Dan O'Bannon. It was also nominated for British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for Best Costume Design for John Mollo, Best Editing for Terry Rawlings, Best Supporting Actor for John Hurt, and Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Role for Sigourney Weaver. It also won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and was nominated for a British Society of Cinematographers award for Best Cinematography for Derek Vanlint, as well as a Silver Seashell award for Best Cinematography and Special Effects at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Jerry Goldsmith's score received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album, and a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.

 

Merchandising

Around and shortly after Alien's release in theaters, a number of merchandise items and media were released and sold to coincide with the film. These included a novelization by Alan Dean Foster, in both adult and "junior" versions, which was adapted from the film's shooting script.Heavy Metal magazine published a comic strip adaptation of the film entitled Alien: The Illustrated Story, as well as a 1980 Alien calendar. Two behind-the-scenes books were released in 1979 to accompany the film: The Book of Alien contained many production photographs and details on the making of the film, while Giger's Alien contained much of H. R. Giger's concept artwork for the movie.A soundtrack album was released as an LP featuring selections of Goldsmith's score, and a single of the main theme was released in 1980.A twelve-inch tall model kit of the Alien was released by the Model Products Corporation in the United States and by Airfix in the United Kingdom. Kenner also produced a larger-scale Alien action figure, as well as a board game in which players raced to be first to reach the shuttle pod while Aliens roamed the Nostromo's corridors and air shafts.Official Halloween costumes of the Alien were released for October 1979. Several computer games based on the film were released, but not until several years after its theatrical run.

 

Sequels

The success of Alien led 20th Century Fox to finance three direct sequels over the next eighteen years, each by different writers and directors. Sigourney Weaver remained the only recurring actor through all four films, and the story of her character Ripley's encounters with the Aliens became the thematic thread running through the series. James Cameron's Aliens (1986) focused more on action and involved Ripley returning to the planetoid accompanied by marines to confront hordes of Aliens.David Fincher's Alien 3 (1992) had nihilistic tonesand found her on a prison planet battling another Alien, ultimately sacrificing herself to prevent her employers from acquiring the creatures. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection (1997) saw Ripley resurrected through cloning to battle more Aliens even further in the future.

The success of the film series resulted in the creation of a media franchise with numerous novels, comic books, video games, toys, and other media and merchandise appearing over the years. A number of these began appearing under the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint, which brought the Alien creatures together with the titular Predators of the Predator franchise. The film series eventually followed suit, with Paul W. S. Anderson's Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Colin and Greg Strause's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) abandoning the Ripley character in favor of prequel stories set in the 2000s.

Despite not appearing in either prequel, Sigourney Weaver has expressed interest in reuniting with Ridley Scott to revive her character for another Alien film. In the 2003 commentary track for the Alien DVD included in the Alien Quadrilogy set, she and Scott both speculated on the possibility, with Weaver stating: "There is an appetite for a fifth one, which is something I never expected...it's really hard to come up with a fifth story that's new and fresh...but I have wanted to go back into space...I think outer space adventure is a good thing for us right now, 'cause Earth is so grim...so we've been talking about it, but very generally." Scott remarked that, if the series were to continue, the most logical course would be to explore the origins of the space jockey and the Aliens. Weaver supported this idea, stating that "I think it would be great to go back, because I'm asked that question so many times: 'Where did the Alien come from?' People really want to know in a very visceral way." David Giler stated that he, Walter Hill, and Gordon Carroll, the producers of the first five films in the series, would not be willing to produce another unless it was about the Aliens' homeworld and Weaver was on board (although Hill did return to produce Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem). Weaver, in turn, indicated that she would only return to the franchise if either Scott or James Cameron were directing.Cameron had been working on a story for a fifth Alien film which would explore the origins of the creatures, but ceased work on it when he learned that Fox was pursuing Alien vs. Predator, which he felt would "kill the validity of the franchise". Weaver has continued to express interest in another installment, stating in 2008 that "I would definitely do another if I had a director like Ridley Scott and we had a good idea. Ridley is enthusiastic about it."

In July 2009, 20th Century Fox announced that Jon Spaihts had been hired to write a prequel to Alien, with Scott attached to direct.The script was subsequently re-worked by Scott and Damon Lindelof. Titled Prometheus, it went into production in May 2011, and was subsequently released in the U.S. on June 8, 2012. Scott released a statement: "While Alien was indeed the jumping-off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative.

 

 

 

 

Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton. A sequel to the 1979 film Alien, Aliens follows Weaver's character Ellen Ripley as she returns to the planet where her crew encountered the hostile Alien creature, this time accompanied by a unit of Colonial Marines.

Aliens' action-adventure tone was in contrast to the horror motifs of the original Alien. Following the success of The Terminator (1984), which helped establish Cameron as a major action director, 20th Century Fox greenlit Aliens with a budget of approximately $18 million. It was filmed in England at Pinewood Studios and at a decommissioned power plant.

Aliens grossed $86 million at the US box office during its 1986 theatrical release and $131 million worldwide.The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nomination for Sigourney Weaver. It won in the categories of Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects. It won eight Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress for Weaver and Best Direction and Best Writing for Cameron.

 

Plot

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the only survivor of the space freighter Nostromo, is rescued and revived after drifting for fifty-seven years in stasis. At an interview before a panel of executives from her employer, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, her testimony regarding the Alien is met with extreme skepticism as she has no physical evidence. Ripley loses her space-flight license as a result of her "questionable judgment" and learns that LV-426, the planet where her crew first encountered the Alien eggs, is now home to a terraforming colony.

Ripley is later visited by Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) and Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope) of the Colonial Marines, who inform her that contact has been lost with the colony on LV-426. The company decides to dispatch Burke and a unit of marines to investigate, and offers to restore Ripley's flight status and pick up her contract if she will accompany them as a consultant. Traumatized by her previous encounter with the Alien, Ripley initially refuses, but accepts after Burke promises that the team will destroy any Aliens found and not attempt to study them. Aboard the warship Sulaco she is introduced to the Colonial Marines, including Sergeant Apone (Al Matthews), Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), Privates Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) and Hudson (Bill Paxton), and the android Bishop (Lance Henriksen), toward whom Ripley is initially hostile due to her previous experience with the android Ash aboard the Nostromo.
 

The expedition descends to the surface of LV-426 via dropship, where they find the colony seemingly abandoned. Two living facehuggers are found in containment tanks in the medical lab. The only colonist found is a traumatized young girl nicknamed Newt (Carrie Henn). The marines determine that the colonists are clustered in the nuclear-powered atmosphere processing station, where they find a large Alien nest filled with the cocooned colonists. The Aliens attack, killing most of the unit and capturing Apone and Dietrich. Ripley is able to rescue Hicks, Vasquez, and Hudson. With Gorman knocked unconscious during the rescue, Hicks assumes command and orders the dropship to recover the survivors, intending to return to the Sulaco and destroy the colony from orbit. A stowaway Alien kills the dropship pilots in flight, causing the vessel to crash into the processing station. The surviving humans barricade themselves inside the colony complex.

Ripley discovers that it was Burke who ordered the colonists to investigate the derelict spaceship where the Nostromo crew first encountered the Alien eggs, and that he hopes to return Alien specimens to the company laboratories where he can profit from their use as biological weapons. She threatens to expose him, but Bishop soon informs the group of a greater threat: the damaged processing station has become unstable and will soon detonate with the force of a thermonuclear weapon. He volunteers to use the colony's transmitter to pilot the Sulaco's remaining dropship to the surface by remote control so that the group can escape. Ripley and Newt fall asleep in the medical laboratory, awakening to find themselves locked in the room with the two facehuggers, which have been released from their tanks. Ripley is able to alert the marines, who rescue them and kill the creatures. Ripley accuses Burke of attempting to smuggle implanted Alien embryos past Earth's quarantine inside her and Newt, and of planning to kill the rest of the marines in hypersleep during the return trip so that no one could contradict his version of events. The electricity is suddenly cut off and numerous Aliens attack through the ceiling. Hudson, Burke, Gorman, and Vasquez are killed while Newt is captured by the Aliens.

Ripley and an injured Hicks reach Bishop and the second dropship, but Ripley refuses to leave Newt behind. She rescues Newt from the hive in the processing station, where the two encounter the Alien queen and her egg chamber. Ripley destroys most of the eggs, enraging the queen, who escapes by tearing free from her ovipositor. Closely pursued by the queen, Ripley and Newt rendezvous with Bishop and Hicks on the dropship and escape moments before the colony is consumed by the nuclear blast. Back on the Sulaco, Ripley and Bishop's relief at their escape is interrupted when the Alien queen, stowed away on the dropship's landing gear, impales Bishop and tears him in half. Ripley battles the queen using an exosuit cargo-loader, before expelling it into space through an airlock. Ripley, Newt, Hicks and the still-functioning Bishop then enter hypersleep for the return to Earth.

 

Origins and inspiration

While completing pre-production of The Terminator in 1983, director James Cameron discussed the possibility of working on a sequel to Alien (1979) with producer David Giler.A fan of the original film, Cameron was interested in crafting a sequel and entered a self-imposed seclusion to brainstorm a concept for Alien II. After four days Cameron produced an initial forty-five page treatment, although management changes at 20th Century Fox resulted in the film being put on hiatus, as they felt that Alien had not generated enough profit to warrant a sequel. A scheduling conflict with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger caused filming of The Terminator to be delayed by nine months (as Schwarzenegger was filming Conan the Destroyer), allowing Cameron additional time to write a script for Aliens. While filming The Terminator, Cameron wrote ninety pages for Aliens, and although the script was not finished, Fox was impressed and told him that if The Terminator was a success, he would be able to direct Aliens.
 

Following the success of The Terminator, Cameron and partner Gale Anne Hurd were given approval to direct and produce the sequel to Alien, scheduled for a 1986 release. Cameron was enticed by the opportunity to create a new world and opted not to follow the same formula as Alien, but to create a worthy combat sequel focusing "more on terror, less on horror".Sigourney Weaver, who played Ellen Ripley in Alien, had doubts about the project, but after meeting Cameron she expressed interest in revisiting her character. 20th Century Fox, however, refused to sign a contract with Weaver over a payment dispute and asked Cameron to write a story excluding Ellen Ripley. He refused on the grounds that Fox had indicated that Weaver had signed on when he began writing the script. With Cameron's persistence, Fox signed the contract and Weaver obtained a salary of $1 million, a sum equal to thirty times what she was paid for the first film.Weaver nicknamed her role in the Alien sequel "Rambolina", referring to John Rambo of the Rambo series, and stated that she approached the role as akin to the titular role in Henry V or women warriors in Chinese classical literature.
 

Cameron drew inspiration for the Aliens story from the Vietnam War, a situation in which a technologically superior force was mired in a hostile foreign environment: "Their training and technology are inappropriate for the specifics, and that can be seen as analogous to the inability of superior American firepower to conquer the unseen enemy in Vietnam: a lot of firepower and very little wisdom, and it didn't work." In the story of Aliens the Colonial Marines are hired to protect the business interests of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, corresponding to the belief that corporate interests were the reason that American troops were sent to South Vietnam. The attitude of the Marines was influenced by the Vietnam War; they are portrayed as cocky and confident of their inevitable victory, but when they find themselves facing a less technologically advanced but more determined enemy, the outcome is not what they expect.

 

Concept and design

Early concept art was created by Syd Mead, who had worked on Blade Runner, 2010 and Tron. One of the original designs for the spaceship Sulaco was spherical, but it was redesigned as the ship would be out of frame due to the film's aspect ratio. Cameron showed Mead his own concept art and the final result was described as a "rocket gun that carries stuff". Concept artists were asked to incorporate subliminal acknowledgments to the Vietnam War, which included designing the dropship as a combination of a F-4 Phantom II and AH-1 Cobra.

The AH-1 Cobra used in Vietnam served as inspiration for the design of the dropship

 

British Airways was re-equipping several of its aircraft tug tractors, and the crew managed to purchase a 635 hp Hunslet ATT 77 tug to use as the armored personnel carrier. It initially weighed 70 short tons (64,000 kg), and although the crew removed 35 short tons (32,000 kg) of lead ballast, the power station floor had to be reinforced to support the weight. The crew used many "junk" items in the set designs, such as Ripley's toilet, which came from a Boeing 747. Lockers, helicopter engines, and vending machines were used as set elements in the opening hypersleep scene. Production designer Peter Lamont was asked to reduce the cost of several scenes, including the not-yet-filmed marine hypersleep sequence. Gale Hurd wanted to cut the scene altogether, but Lamont and Cameron felt it was important to the sequence of the film. To save on cost, only four hypersleep chambers were created and a mirror was used to create the illusion that there were twelve in the scene. Instead of using hydraulics, the chambers were opened and closed by wires operated by puppeteers.

 

 

The APC (armored personnel carrier) was built upon the chassis of a Hunslet ATT 77 Aircraft Towing Tractor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weapons used by the Marines were based on real, fully functional weapons. British armorers used guns they found to be the most reliable when firing blanks and those which looked futuristic. The 'pulse rifles' were created from a Thompson SMG, with an attached forend of a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun and a Remington 12 Gauge Model 870P receiver with barrel. The 'smart guns' carried by Vasquez and Drake were based on the German MG-42 machine gun and were maneuvered with Steadicam-like harnesses created using old motorcycle parts. The crew found flamethrowers the most difficult weapon to create and use, as they were the heaviest and most dangerous.

 

Casting

 

Corporal Dwayne Hicks

Michael Biehn as Corporal Dwayne Hicks, one of the Colonial Marines' squad leaders. James Remar was originally cast as Hicks but left the picture because of artistic differences with Cameron. Biehn was hastily cast a week after filming had commenced, and thus was not present for the military training that the other actors playing marines went through.

 

Corporal Dwayne Hicks is a colonial marine who is sent to planet LV-426 to find out why contact with that colony was lost, with his team acting under the supervision of the inexperienced Lt. Gorman. While examining the underground complex, most of his team is killed or captured by the Aliens, save for the bad tempered Private Vasquez and cynical, cowardly Private Hudson, as they are rescued by Ellen Ripley. After realizing that they cannot defeat the Aliens or rescue their teammates, Hicks, now commanding officer, orders that they leave the planet and nuke the site, but an Alien gets on board the drop ship that was meant to take them back up, stranding them with limited supplies. With 17 days to go before a rescue team is dispatched, Hicks does his best to keep his surviving team mates calm, with help from Ripley, whom he seems to be attracted to. As a quiet bonding moment, Hicks shows Ripley how to work the pulse rifles. Hicks and his team rescue Ripley and Newt (another survivor) from being impregnated by Alien face huggers, a plot by the evil company man Carter Burke to both kill Ripley and bring back specimens for Weyland-Yutani, which funded the colony and sent the marines in. Upon learning this, the normally calm Hicks opted to essentially murder Burke in retaliation and to protect the other survivors, but before he could actually kill Burke, the Aliens attacked, killing Burke, presumably killing Hudson, and resulting in the suicides of Vasquez and Gorman (to avoid impregnation). While trying to escape the complex, Hicks was injured by an Alien that attacked him and Ripley in an elevator; on reflex, Hicks shot the Alien, but the creature's acid blood splattered all over Hicks. Ripley managed to drag Hicks out of the complex and left him in the drop ship while she went to rescue Newt. Bishop stabilized Hicks's vital signs and kept him alive.

Tragically, Hicks died when the drop ship crashed on a prison planet and he was impaled by his own flight harness within in his sleep capsule. Ripley convinced the warden to have Hicks and Newt (who was killed in the crash as well) cremated in case alien embryos survived in their bodies. There are those who believe that, because of the huge number of inconsistencies and plot holes in ALien 3 that it is nothing more than a bad dream of Ripleys and that Hicks survives on in the Sulaco.

For the mission to LV-426, Cpl. Hicks serves as third in command. A serious soldier who keeps to himself, Cpl. Hicks always manages to be in the right place at a potentially lethal time, which makes him highly appreciated by his fellow Marines. When he is forced to assume command, he has the remaining members of his squadron fortify the Operations Center while they await evacuation.

 

Private Jenette Vasquez

Jenette Goldstein as Private Jenette Vasquez, one of the marines' "smart gun" operators. Goldstein received a Saturn Award for best supporting actress for her performance.

 

 

was a PFC and smart gun operator in the United States Colonial Marine Corp. she was a part of the platoon of marines dispatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani owned terraforming colony, "Hadley's Hope" on Acheron LV-426. Vasquez was good friends with fellow smart gunner Drake.

 

 

 Rebecca "Newt" Jorden

Carrie Henn as Newt, a child who is the only survivor of the colony on LV-426. According to the casting director, Newt was the most difficult role to cast: schoolchildren were auditioned, but many of them had acted in commercials and were accustomed to smiling after saying their lines, a trait that the producers wished to avoid as it would not suit Aliens' dark tone. Henn, whose father was stationed at an American military base, was chosen out of 500 children for the role, although she had no previous acting experience. Henn received a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.

 

 

A citizen of the terraforming colony on LV-426, Newt’s parents are sent to investigate the alien derelict ship first discovered by the Nostromo. Her father is the first to be impregnated by an alien. Newt survives the resulting invasion of the aliens by hiding in the air duct system, using tunnels that are too small for the aliens to enter. She is later rescued by Ripley and the Colonial Marines and comes to see Ripley as a surrogate mother.Sole survior of hadleys hope population 159 lv-426

 

Bishop

Lance Henriksen as Bishop, the android executive officer of the Sulaco.

Bishop was (allegedly) created by Weyland-Yutani employee Michael Bishop and designed to resemble Michael as well as Weyland Industries founder Charles Bishop Weyland. At some pont, Bishop was part of the Colonial Marines and was stationed as an executive officer on board the USS Sulaco

 

After waking from hypersleep one of the Marines asks Bishop to do his "knife trick" with Bishop refusing at first. Hudson then gets volunteered by Drake for the trick and holds Hudson down for the knife trick. Bishop knicked himself during the knife trick and inadvertently revealed that he was an android to Ellen Ripley. Ripley due to her previous encounter with a synthetic, Ash; who was stationed on her previous assignment reacted negatively to Bishop. Bishop prefers to be called an artificial person, rather than a synthetic.
After landing in the facility, Bishop started going through the logs left by the missing colonists and started to work on the dead specimens left in the facility. During this time, Bishop was ordered by Weyland-Yutani Rep Carter Burke to preserve the specimens to be shipped back when the mission was completed. He continued his work while the squad set out to the atmospheric processor, listening in on the Marines' frequencies during the mission.After he rescued both Ripley and Newt, he was ripped apart by the Queen, but eventually earned Ripley's trust after saving Newt and he went into hypersleep (deactivated) with Ripley, Newt and Cpl. Dwayne Hicks.Bishop was further damaged when the Sulaco ejected the survivors from the ship in an EEV during an "electrical fire" on board. The EEV crash-landed on The Prison world Fiorina "Fury" 161. Cpl. Hicks and Newt were killed in the crash and Bishop's remains were sent to the scrapyard. Bishop was later repaired by Ripley on Fiorina 161 and provided valuable information, concerning the Xenomorph aboard the Sulaco. After giving Ripley the information she wanted, Bishop asked to be disconnected, stating that he could be reworked but never top of the line again; Ripley obliged him. His remains were retrieved by the Weyland-Yutani rescue team headed by his creator Michael Bishop to retrieve Ripley and the Xenomorphs.

                              Lt W. Gorman
William Hope as Lieutenant William Gorman, the marines' commanding officer

William Gorman was a young Lieutenant in the United States Colonial Marine Corp. In 2179 he was in command of a platoon of Marines dispatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani owned terraforming colony, "Hadley's Hope" on Acheron (LV 426).

 

Gorman was a Colonial Marine officer out of the academy and was stationed on Gateway Station in 2179. Gorman was assigned with Weyland-Yutani rep Carter J. Burke; who unknown to Gorman, pulled strings to get the inexperienced commander on the investigative mission to Hadley's Hope. Both men met with Lt. Ripley, who had encountered a strange creature that killed her previous crew. At first Ripley, who was traumatized by her previous experience, refused to go but after reassurance by Burke that the Marines would destroy the creatures and not bring them back to be studied

 

Gorman and his squad set out for the colony after enlisting Ripley. After awakening, Gorman gave a briefing regarding the situation and got sarcastic remarks from his squad. Several of his subordinates noted that Gorman sat at the officer's table and was "too good to sit with the rest of the grunts". During the drop Gorman appeared uneasy on the drop and was questioned about how many combat drops he's done by some of the squad members.
After landing and the squad's sweep of the administrative building, Gorman came into the facility with his civilian advisors. The squad soon came across a young girl named Rebecca Jorden a.k.a. Newt, who was interviewed unsuccessfully by Gorman. Hudson then comes across the colonist's tracer signals in the atmospheric processor. Gorman's inexperience also showed by allowing his squad to go in under a thermonuclear piece of equipment with armor piercing rounds that could potentially set off a massive nuclear explosion.
The mission quickly falls apart when the platoon is ambushed by a nest of Xenomorphs at the colony's atmosphere processing plant. Gorman panics and freezes while he watches from the APC as most of his Marines are wiped out in seconds. Realizing that Gorman had no idea what he was doing, Ripley took control of the APC to effect a rescue. While the vehicle is careening down the plant's service tunnels a piece of stowed equipment comes loose inside the cabin and leaves Gorman out cold with a concussion.Gorman eventually comes to, but instead of taking charge and asserting his authority he accepts that he's no longer in charge and does what he can to assist in the defense of the colony. When Carter J. Burke attempts to have Ripley and Newt impregnated by the two live Facehuggers stored in the medbay, Gorman assisted in their rescue and later guards Burke at gunpoint. During the final battle, Gorman partially redeems himself by sending the others on as he goes back to retrieve a wounded Vasquez from the ventilation ducts, however neither of them get very far as they're quickly surrounded and run out of ammunition. Not willing to be taken back to the nest and determined to take as many Xenomorphs with them as possible, Gorman pulls out a grenade and pops the trigger, killing himself, Vasquez and several Xenomorphs.

                                     Sgt.Apone
Al Matthews as Sergeant Al Apone. Matthews attributed his casting to his military experience.

Gunnery Sergeant Al Apone was senior NCO and second in command of the USCM Squad that was sent out to LV-426 to investigate the incident at the "Hadley's Hope" colony.

Al Apone was born in Detroit, Michigan-USA, on September 2, 2137. Little is known about his early life or how, why, and when he joined the Colonial Marines Corp. He later achieved the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.Apone was sent out to Acheron LV-426 to investigate the incident at Hadley's Hope, and was the second in command of the squad.Shortly after arriving on the planet, the group discovered the hive, where the aliens attacked them, and Apone was one of the first to be attacked and one of two to be captured alive, Dietrich being the other. It is not known whether Apone died from the impregnation of a Xenomorph or the explosion from the Atmospheric Processor going critical.Apone shows to be an experienced and always-ready military man. During the Colonial Marines' mission to Acheron LV-426, Apone led his squad onboard the USS Sulaco to Hadley's Hope colony. He mostly chewed a cigar and laughed commonly with his team, yet at the time to get strict with them he didn't hesitate. He always had to control Hudson's attitudes with the superior officers and during mission time, yet they seem to be good friends. He was one of the most liked members of the team.Apone was outfitted with a standard issue body armor with a Shoulder lamp attachment for protection and illumination. Apone also used a M240 Incinerator Unit for protection on the mission to Archeon.

                                                   
                                             

                                                 pvt.Tim Crowe

 Tim Crowe was a Private in the United States Colonial Marine Corps. In 2179 he was a part of the platoon of marines despatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani owned terraforming colony, "Hadley's Hope" on Acheron LV-426.

 

Crowe was chosen as part of a taskforce led by the inexperienced Lt. Gorman. His squad was sent to LV-426 to investigate the loss of contact with the local colony. Crowe sat and listened during the briefing led by the commanding officers and Lt. Ellen Ripley, who encountered a hostile creature that she and her crew encountered fifty-seven years ago. During the drop Crowe listened to Frost say he's got a bad feeling about the drop and Crowe told him he always says that, Frost told him he'd let his folks know when he didn't come back from the mission. Crowe and the rest of his squad landed at the colony and investigated the seemingly abaondoned colony.

Crowe was one of the first marines to die in the ambush in the atmospheric processor. He was thrown from the explosion that was caused by the ignition of the bag of ammo that Pvt. Frost was tasked to carry by Apone when he was incinerated by Cpl. Dietrich panicking and discharging her flamethrower when she was grabbed by a Xenomorph. Crowe snapped his neck on impact killing him instantly.

          Trevor Steedman (as Private Trevor Wierzbowski

Trevor Wierzbowski was a Private in the United States Colonial Marine Corp.In 2179, Wierzbowski was a part of the platoon of marines dispatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani owned terraforming colony, "Hadley's Hope" on Acheron LV-426. When Gorman ordered that the Pulse Rifles to be slung over possibly rupturing the processor, Wierzbowski, along with the rest of the squad weren't too happy. When the creatures struck, Wierzbowski was in shock over Frost's death and had to be pulled away by Hicks from the bag of ammo that was cooking from the flames. During the ambush He was killed by one of the aliens when Hicks was looking for him in the chaos.When Hicks was calling him, Vasquez aimed her smart gun and she didn't know Wierzbowski was in rage.

    Colette Hiller (as dropship pilot Corporal Collette Ferro

 

 

 

Colette Ferro was a Corporal and dropship pilot in the United States Colonial Marine Corp.
In 2179 she was a part of the platoon of marines dispatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani owned terraforming colony, "Hadley's Hope" on Acheron LV-426. Ferro was killed when a Xenomorph ambushed her in her cockpit while in flight, causing her to lose control of the ship and crash before she could pick up the platoon's survivors by the APC.

 As Ripley rescued Cpl. Hicks, Pvt Hudson and Vasquez, Gorman and Burke, they set off out of the atmosphere processing station to be evacuated and nuke the colony from orbit. As Hicks called in

for dustoff, Ferro responded not knowing a xenomorph warrior boarded her ship and had already killed her co-pilot Daniel Spunkmeyer. While flying the cockpit door opened and Ferro thought it was Spunkmeyer. As she turned he head she was shocked to see the xenomorph behind her. Ferro quickly reached for her pistol but the xenomorph attacked her, causing blood to spray against the window and for her to flail and smear her blood even more. Thus making her lose control of the dropship and crash into the APC where the remaining survivors were.

Ferro was a minor character in the movie Aliens. She was a pretty cold and no nonsense woman since she didn't seem to be fazed or nervous when her fellow marines were being slaughtered. She also kept a cool head in tough situations since she didn't panic when faced against the alien and simply reached down to grab her weapon.Ferro in addition to her pilot helmet and sunglasses, Ferro would keep an VP-70 Automatic Pistol with her for protection. Ferro's large helmet could've provided decent head protection and was probably useful if there was an accident on the ship and could prevent fatal head damage. She also had a light armor vest which would provide limited protection. Ferro's vest also had a large collar aound her neck which could've protected her neck from rocky shaking of the ship which could've easily broken her neck.

 

 

 

 Daniel Kash (as dropship crew chief Private Daniel Spunkmeyer

 

Daniel Spunkmeyer was a PFC and dropship chief weapons officer in the United States Colonial Marine Corp. In 2179 he was a part of the platoon of marines dispatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani owned terraforming colony, "Hadley's Hope" on Acheron LV-426

Spunkmeyer was the co-pilot/navigator for the Colonial Marines dropship. He usually co-pilots with Ferro.

After Hicks called in for a pickup Ferro order him back to the dropship. Spunkmeyer ran inside the ramp when he touched slime left by a xenomorph. He tried to nofity Ferro of his discovery but she ordered him to get to her. He was last seen closing the ramp. He was either killed by the alien on board, or in the crash.

 

 

Ricco Ross (as Private Ricco Frost 

Rico Frost was a Private in the United States Colonial Marine Corp. In 2179 he was a part of the platoon of marines dispatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani terraforming colony "Hadley's Hope" on Acheron LV-426.

 

Frost was part of a Marine detachment sent to investigate the loss of contact with the Hadley's Hope Colony in 2179. After awakening from hypersleep, Frost would joke around with his fellow squadmates and make remarks about tense situations. During the briefing of the mission the squad's new Lieutenant, Gorman; mentioned that the loss of contact "may involve" a xenomorph. Frost asked " a what?"regarding with Hicks responded that it was a "bug hunt." Frost also mentioned during the drop that he had a bad feeling about the drop, but was chewed out by Crowe that he always says that, and Frost told him he'd tell Crowe's folks when he didn't come back.

After landing, Frost and the others investigated the administration portion fo the colony. After doing a sweep of the building Gorman said he was coming in since it was clear. Frost; on the motion tracker, came across a signal which Drake and Hicks joined him in checking it out. A girl jumped out and ran for the ducts to get away. After she was caught by Ripley, Hudson came across the colonists' signals and Frost and the squad made their way to the atmospheric processor.

As Frost and his squad made their way down into the sublevels of the processor, the envoirment changed from an industrial processor to a secreted resin covering everything. Frost complained that it was hot as hell in the place now. Shortly after, the squad was informed that they couldn't use their M41A Pulse Rifles or M56 Smart Guns and that they could only use incinerator units. Frost grumbled with the rest of the squad on having alot of their firepower taken away, and wasn't too thrilled to be volunteered to carry the magazines and ammo.

Frost and the others eventually found the colonists, dead with wounds to their chests. Dietrich came across a live colonist that later died when a creature ripped out of her chest. Apone torched the creature and the body and agitated the nest. Frost was the first marine to die in the first encounter with the xenomorphs when Dietrich was grabbed by a xenomorph and, in a panic, discharged her flamethrower with Frost in the way. In panic A flame covered Frost ran towards the edge of the processing sration and fell towards down the levels to his death.Like Hudson, Frost was one of the comedians of the squad with a warped sense of humor, making light of serious situations. One example of this was when Ripley found out about Bishop being an android and getting angry about it Frost mentioned that she must hate the cornbread too. Frost would also complain on occasion and be pessimistic at times too but managed to get ripped on by Crowe for saying "I got a bad feeling about this.Frost was outfitted with standard Colonial Marine gear during the mission on Archeon. Frost wore the standard issue M10 Pattern Ballistic Armour with custom paint job and a Shoulder lamp attatchment for illumination. Frost was also equipped with a motion tracker to pin point potential hostile movement. Frost was also proficent with the standard issue carbine the M41A Pulse Rifle, but would at times carry a M240 Incinerator Unit as a back up and a holstered VP-70 Automatic Pistol.

 

Protective armor and helmet worn by Michael Biehn as Hicks (Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, Seattle)

 

Filming

 

Aliens was filmed on a budget of $18 million at Pinewood Studios, with production lasting ten months. Production was affected by a number of personnel and cast disruptions. Shooting was said to be problematic because of cultural clashes between Cameron and the British crew, with the crew having what actor Bill Paxton called a "really indentured" way of working. Cameron, who is known to be a hard driving director and at the time was bound to a low budget with a release date set that he could not delay, found it difficult to adjust to working practices such as the regular tea breaks that brought production to a temporary halt. The crew were admirers of Ridley Scott, and many believed Cameron to be too young and inexperienced to be directing a film such as Aliens, despite Cameron's attempts to show them his previous film, The Terminator, which had not yet been released in the UK.
 

Some scenes of the Alien nest were shot at the decommissioned Acton Lane Power Station in Acton, London. The crew thought it was a perfect place to film because of its grilled walkways and numerous corridors. Problems were encountered with rust and asbestos, however, and the crew was required to spend money to clean the asbestos. The Alien nest set was not dismantled after filming, and was reused in 1989 as the Axis Chemicals set for Batman. When the crew of Batman entered the set, they found most of it intact.

At one point the crew members mocked Cameron's wife, producer Gale Anne Hurd, by asking her who the producer was and insisting that she was only getting producer's credit because she was married to the director. A walkout occurred when Cameron clashed with an uncooperative cameraman who refused to light a scene the way Cameron wanted. The cameraman had lit the Alien nest set brightly, while Cameron insisted on his original vision of a dark, foreboding nest, relying on the lights from the Marines' armor. After the cameraman was fired, Hurd managed to coax the crew members into coming back to work.

 

The producing team behind Aliens, James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd

 

Music

Music composer James Horner felt he was not given enough time to create a musical score. Horner arrived in England and expected the film to be "locked" so he could write the score in six weeks, which he thought was a sufficient amount of time. Horner, however, discovered that filming and editing were still taking place, and he was unable to view the film. He visited the sets and editing rooms for three weeks and found that editor Ray Lovejoy was barely keeping up with the workload for reasons of time restrictions. Horner believed Cameron was preoccupied with sound effects, citing that Cameron spent two days with the sound engineer creating the sounds for the pulse rifles. He also complained that he was given an outdated recording studio; the score was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, a thirty-year-old studio that was barely able to patch in synthesizers or use the electronic equipment that Horner required.

 

Six weeks from theatrical release, no dubbing had taken place and the score had not been written, as Horner was unable to view the completed film. The final cue for the scene in which Ripley battles the Alien queen was written overnight. Cameron completely reworked the scene, leaving Horner to rewrite the music. As Gale Hurd did not have much music production experience, she and Cameron denied Horner's request to push the film back four weeks so he could finish the score. Horner felt that, given more time, he could get the score to 100% of his satisfaction, rather than the 80% he estimated he had been able to achieve. The score was recorded in roughly four days. Despite his troubles, Horner received an Academy Award nomination (his first) for Best Original Score.

Horner stated that tensions between himself and Cameron were so high during post-production that he assumed they would never work together again. Horner believed that Cameron's film schedules were too short and stressful. The two parted ways until 1997 when Cameron, impressed with Horner's score for Braveheart, asked him to compose the score for Titanic

 

Visual effects

Brothers Robert and Dennis Skotak were hired to supervise the visual effects, having previously worked with Cameron on several Roger Corman movies. Two stages were used to construct the colony on LV-426, using miniature models that were on average six feet tall and three feet wide. Filming the miniatures was difficult because of the weather; the wind would blow over the props, although it proved helpful to give the effect of weather on the planet. Cameron used these miniatures and several effects to make scenes look larger than they really were, including rear projection, mirrors, beam splitters, camera splits and foreground miniatures.
 

The Alien suits were made more flexible and durable than the ones used in Alien, to expand on the creatures' movements and allow them to crawl and jump. Dancers, gymnasts and stunt men were hired to portray the Aliens. The translucent dome that gave the creature's head its sleek shape in Alien was eliminated because of its fragility at Cameron's insistence, exposing the ridged, spined cranium beneath.Cameron also felt that Giger's cranium design was more visually interesting without the dome.

Scenes involving the Alien queen were the most difficult to film, according to production staff. A life-sized mock-up was created by Stan Winston's company in the United States to see how it would operate. Once the testing was complete, the crew working on the queen flew to England and began work creating the final version. Standing at fourteen feet, it was operated using a mixture of puppeteers, control rods, hydraulics, cables, and a crane above to support it. Two puppeteers were inside the suit operating its arms, and sixteen were required to move it. All sequences involving the full size queen were filmed in-camera with no post-production manipulation. Additionally, a miniature alien queen was used for certain shots.

 

Reception

Box office

Eagerly anticipated by fans following the success of Alien,Aliens was released in North America on July 18, 1986, and August 29 in the United Kingdom. In North America, the film opened in 1,437 theaters with an average opening gross of $6,995 and a weekend gross of $10,052,042. It was number one at the North American box office for four consecutive weeks, grossing $85.1 million. The film took a further $45.9 million outside of North America, for a worldwide total gross of $131 million.

 Reviews

Test and pre-screenings were unable to take place for Aliens due to the film not being completed until its week of release. Once it was released in cinemas, critical and audience reaction was very positive. Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and called it "painfully and unremittingly intense" and a "superb example of filmmaking craft." He also stated "when I walked out of the theater, there were knots in my stomach from the film's roller-coaster ride of violence." Walter Goodman of The New York Times said it was a "flaming, flashing, crashing, crackling blow-'em-up show that keeps you popping from your seat despite your better instincts and the basically conventional scare tactics." Time Magazine featured the film on the cover of its July 28, 1986, issue, calling it the "summer's scariest movie". Time reviewer Richard Schickel declared the film "a sequel that exceeds its predecessor in the reach of its appeal while giving Weaver new emotional dimensions to explore." The selection of Aliens for a Time cover was attributed to the successful reception of the film, as well as its novel example of a science fiction action heroine. Echoing Time's assessment, Dave Kehr of The Chicago Reader called the film "one sequel that surpasses the original."

Sigourney Weaver's Academy Award nomination for Best Actress was considered a milestone at the time when the Academy gave little recognition to the science fiction genre.

Reviews of the film have remained mostly positive over the years. In a 1997 interview, Weaver stated that Aliens "made the first Alien look like a cucumber sandwich." In a 2000 review, film critic James Berardinelli said "When it comes to the logical marriage of action, adventure, and science fiction, few films are as effective or accomplished as Aliens." Austin Chronicle contributor Marjorie Baumgarten labeled the film in 2002 as "a non-stop action fest." Based on 48 reviews, the film holds a "Certified Fresh" rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average critic score of 8.8 out of 10. It also holds a score of 87 out of 100 ("universal acclaim") on the other major review aggregator, Metacritic.

 

 

Accolades 

Aliens was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Music, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. It won two awards for Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects. Sigourney Weaver received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and although she did not win, it was considered a landmark nomination for an actress to be considered for a science fiction/horror film, a genre which was given little recognition by the Academy in 1986.

Aliens received four BAFTA award nominations and won in the category of Visual Effects. It won eight Saturn Awards in the categories of best science fiction film, actress (Sigourney Weaver), supporting actor (Bill Paxton), supporting actress (Jenette Goldstein), performance by a younger actor (Carrie Henn), direction (James Cameron), writing (James Cameron), and special effects (Stan Winston and the L.A. Effects Group).

Time magazine named Aliens in their Best of '86 list calling it a "technically awesome blend of the horror, sci-fi and service-comedy genres." In 2007, Entertainment Weekly named Aliens as the second-best action movie of all time, behind Die Hard. In a Rotten Tomatoes analysis of the top 100 science fiction films, Aliens ranks tenth among the best-reviewed films of the genre. In 2004, Aliens was ranked thirty-fifth on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments" for the scene in which Ripley and Newt are attacked by facehuggers; the original Alien was ranked second for the chestburster scene. IGN ranked it third in its "Top 25 Action Films of All-Time", stating that "there won't be an Alien movie as scary – or exciting – as this one made ever again.

 

Special edition

A "Special Edition" of Aliens was released in 1992 on laserdisc and VHS that restored seventeen minutes of deleted footage. These additions include a segment showing Newt's family first encountering the derelict spacecraft on LV-426, Ripley learning that her daughter died during the years she was in hypersleep, a scene in the operations building in which the Marines use sentry guns against the Aliens, and several extended dialogue scenes between Ripley and the Marines. These scenes had been deleted from the original theatrical release as 20th Century Fox representatives thought the film was showing "too much nothing" and spent an unnecessary amount of time building suspense.

Most of the Special Edition's footage was first seen when the film made its broadcast television debut on CBS in 1989, but two additional sequences concerning Burke's transmission to the colony about the derelict, and the Jorden family's subsequent discovery of the same, were added to the initial Laserdisc release. According to Cameron, the visual effects for the scene were incomplete, so he went back to the Skotak brothers and had them finish the sequences. All currently available versions of the Special Edition contain these scenes.

The special edition was released as part of The Alien Legacy 20th Anniversary Edition DVD box set in 1999 along with Alien, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection. Both the theatrical version and the special edition were released again in 2003 as part of the Alien Quadrilogy DVD box set along with similar versions of Alien, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection. A separate two-disc "Special Collector's Edition" DVD of Aliens was released on January 6, 2004, containing the same material as the two Aliens discs in the Quadrilogy set. Additional content in these versions included an audio commentary for the special edition featuring director James Cameron, producer Gale Hurd, special effects artists and crew members. The second disc included special features relating to pre-production, production, and post-production.

 

Star Michael Biehn signing a copy of the film's DVD cover during an August 23, 2012 appearance at Midtown Comics in Manhattan

 

Interpretation and analysis

Philosopher Stephen Mulhall has remarked that the four Alien films represent an artistic rendering of the difficulties faced by the woman's "voice" to have itself heard in a masculinist society, as Ripley continually encounters males who try to silence her and to force her to submit to their desires. Mulhall sees this depicted in several events in Aliens, particularly the inquest scene in which Ripley's explanation for the deaths and destruction of the Nostromo, as well as her attempts to warn the board members of the Alien danger, are met with officious disdain. However, Mulhall believes that Ripley's relationship with Hicks illustrates that Aliens "is devoted ... to the possibility of modes of masculinity that seek not to stifle but rather to accommodate the female voice, and modes of femininity that can acknowledge and incorporate something more or other of masculinity than our worst nightmares of it."

Several movie academics, including Barbara Creed, have remarked on the color and lighting symbolism in the Alien franchise, which offsets white, strongly lit environments (spaceships, corporate offices) against darker, dirtier, 'corrupted' settings (derelict alien ship, abandoned industrial facilities). These black touches contrast or even attempt to take over the purity of the white elements. Others, such as Kile M. Ortigo of Emory University, agree with this interpretation and point to the Sulaco with its "sterilized, white interior" as representing this element in the second film of the franchise.

While some claim that the shape of the Sulaco was based on a submarine, the design has most often been described as a 'gun in space' resembling the rifles used in the movie. Author Roz Kaveney called the opening shot of the ship traveling through space 'fetishistic' and 'shark-like', "an image of brutal strength and ingenious efficiency"—while the militarized interior of the Sulaco (designed by Ron Cobb) is contrasted to the organic interior of the Nostromo in the first movie (also designed by Cobb).David McIntee noted the homage the scene pays to the opening tour through the Nostromo in Alien.

The android character Bishop has been the subject of literary and philosophical analysis as a high-profile fictional android conforming to science fiction author Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and as a model of a compliant, potentially self-aware machine. His portrayal has been studied by writers for the University of Texas Press for its implications relating to how humans deal with the presence of an "Other", as Ripley treats them with fear and suspicion and a form of "hi-tech racism and android apartheid" is present throughout the series. This is seen as part of a larger trend of technophobia in films prior to the 1990s, with Bishop's role being particularly significant as he proves his worth at the end of the film, thus confounding Ripley's expectations.

 

 

 

Alien 3 is a 1992 science fiction horror film, the third installment in the Alien franchise, and the debut of director David Fincher. It is a sequel to James Cameron's Aliens, itself a sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien.

The story begins with an ejected pod from the Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco in Aliens crash-landing on a prison-run refinery planet, killing everyone aboard except Lieutenant Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Unknown to Ripley, an Alien egg was aboard the ship. It is born in the prison and begins a killing spree.

Alien 3 had a difficult production, with various screenwriters and directors getting involved in the project, and shooting began without a finished script. The film was the big-budget debut of a young David Fincher, who was brought into the project after a proposed version with Vincent Ward at the helm was cancelled well into pre-production. Fincher had little time to prepare, and the experience of making the film proved agonizing for him. Besides the need to shoot and rewrite the script simultaneously while fitting in sets that had already been built, filming was also plagued by incessant creative interference from studio executives, who overruled many of Fincher's decisions and dictated a large part of production. Adding to Fincher's burdens was the pressure to create a film worthy of the previous two and their revered directors.^[1] Upon completion, the studio dismantled and reworked the film without Fincher's consent, including a teaser trailer that suggested the film would take place on Earth. Fincher has since disowned the film, citing the aforementioned reasons. A heavily-revised version of the film, known as the Assembly Cut, was released in 2003, which Fincher refused to be involved with.

The film was released to mixed reviews, and is generally considered the most divisive entry in the series. While under-performing at the United States box office, it earned over $100 million outside of North America and was considered a financial success.

Plot

The Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco experiences an onboard fire and launches an escape pod containing Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) along with Newt, Hicks, and the damaged android Bishop. All four are in cryonic stasis. During the launch, the ship's medical scans of the crew's cryotubes show an Alien facehugger attached to one of the crewmembers. The pod then crashes on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, a foundry facility and penal colony inhabited by all-male inmates with "double-Y" chromosome patterns and histories of physical and sexual violence. After some inmates recover the pod and its passengers, an Alien facehugger is seen approaching the prison dog. Ripley is taken in and awakened by Clemens (Charles Dance), the prison doctor, and is told she is the only survivor of the crash. Many of the ex-inmates, led by Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), have embraced an apocalyptic, millenarian version of Christianity. Ripley is warned by the prison warden, Harold Andrews, (Brian Glover) that her presence among them may have extremely disruptive effects.

 

Suspicious of what caused the escape pod to jettison and what killed her companions, Ripley requests that Clemens perform an autopsy on Newt. She fears that Newt may be carrying an Alien embryo in her body, though she does not share this information. Despite protests from the warden and his assistant, Aaron (Ralph Brown), the autopsy is conducted. No embryo is found in Newt's body, and Clemens proclaims she simply died in the crash. Meanwhile, Ripley's unusual behavior begins to frustrate the warden and is agitating the prisoners, to the point that three of them attempt to rape her before being violently thwarted by Dillon.

 
A funeral is performed for Newt and Hicks, during which their bodies are cremated in the facility's enormous furnace. In another section of the facility, the prison dog enters convulsions, and a seemingly full-grown Alien bursts from its body. The Alien soon begins to attack members of the colony, killing several and returning an outcast prisoner Golic (Paul McGann) to his former deranged state. To get answers, Ripley recovers and reactivates the damaged android Bishop, who confirms that there was an Alien on the Sulaco and it came with them to Fiorina in the escape pod. She then informs Andrews of her previous encounters with the Aliens and suggests everyone work together to hunt it down and kill it. Andrews does not believe her story and explains that the facility has no weapons. Their only hope of protection is the rescue ship being sent for Ripley by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.
 

 

Back in the prison infirmary, while talking to Ripley about the situation, Clemens is killed by the Alien, but when it is about to attack Ripley, it suddenly pauses, then retreats, mysteriously sparing her life. She runs to the mess hall to warn the others, only to see the Alien kill the warden. Ripley rallies the inmates and proposes they pour highly flammable toxic waste, which is stored at the facility, into the ventilation system and ignite it to flush out the creature. An explosion is caused by the creature's premature intervention, resulting in several deaths. Using the medical equipment aboard the Sulaco escape pod, Ripley scans herself and discovers the embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her. She also finds out that the Corporation truly wants the Queen embryo and the adult Alien, hoping to turn them into biological weapons. Deducing that the mature alien will not kill her because of the embryo she carries, Ripley begs Dillon to kill her; he agrees to do so only if she helps the inmates kill the adult creature first. They form a plan to lure it into the foundry's molding facility and drown it in molten lead by trapping it by closing a series of doors. The bait-and-chase style plan results in the death of Dillon and all the remaining prisoners, except Morse (Danny Webb), who pours the lead. The Alien, covered in molten metal, escapes the mold and is killed by Ripley when she turns on fire sprinklers and sprays the beast with water, causing its exoskeleton to cool rapidly and shatter via thermal shock.
While Ripley battles the Alien, the Weyland-Yutani team arrives, including a man named Michael Bishop who looks identical to the Bishop android, claiming to be its creator. He tries to persuade Ripley to undergo surgery to remove the Queen embryo, which he claims will be destroyed. Ripley refuses and steps back onto a mobile platform, which Morse positions over the furnace. The company men shoot Morse in the leg, and Aaron picks up a large wrench and strikes Bishop over the head with it. Aaron is shot dead, and Bishop and his men show their true intentions, begging Ripley to let them have the "magnificent specimen". Ripley defies them by throwing herself into the gigantic furnace, just as the alien Queen begins to erupt from her chest. Ripley grabs the creature, holding on to it as she falls into the fire.

The facility is closed down and the last surviving inmate, Morse, is led away. A sound recording of Ripley (her final lines from the original Alien) is heard from the Sulaco escape pod.

 

Cast

Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, reprising her role from the previous two Alien films. Ripley crash-lands on Fiorina 161 and is once again burdened with the task of destroying another of the alien creatures.

 

DILLION

Charles S. Dutton as Dillon, one of Fiorina's inmates who functions as the spiritual and de facto leader amongst the prisoners and attempts to keep the peace in the facility.

 

 

In his youth, Dutton dropped out of school before finishing middle school. He had a short-lived stint as an amateur boxer with the nickname "Roc." When he was 17, he got into a fight which resulted in the death of a man Dutton claimed had attacked him. Dutton was charged and convicted of manslaughter, and he spent the next two years in prison. Several months after being released from prison, Dutton was arrested for possession of a deadly weapon, and was sentenced to three years in prison.

It was in prison that he finally found his passion, however. Several months into his second prison term, Dutton was sentenced to six days of solitary confinement, which allowed prisoners to take one book. By accident, he grabbed an anthology of black playwrights. He enjoyed the plays so much that, upon his release from confinement, he petitioned the warden to start a drama group for the Christmas talent show. The warden agreed on the condition that Dutton go back to school and get his GED. Dutton accomplished that and went on to eventually complete a two-year college program at Hagerstown Junior College (now Hagerstown Community College) in Hagerstown, Maryland. Upon his release, he enrolled as a drama major at Towson State University (now known as Towson University) in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland.After his time at Towson, Dutton earned a master's degree in acting from the Yale School of Drama.unfortunatly never made the 3 years due to xenomorph infestation at fiorina 161 after ripley crashed there.

                                 

                               JONATHAN CLEMENS

Charles Dance as Jonathan Clemens, a former inmate who now serves as the facility's doctor. He treats Ripley after her escape pod crashes at the start of the film and forms a special bond with her. Before he is killed, Clemens laments to Ripley why he was originally sent to Fiorina, describing it as "more than a little melodramatic."

 

 

Dr. Jonathan Clemens was the chief medical officer appointed to the Fiorina 161 Correctional Unit where he had served a seven year sentence for negligent manslaughter.Jonathan Clemens was a highly promising young Doctor, but whilst high on morphine after a long shift, he perscribed a lethal dosage of pain reliever, resulting in the death of 11 men. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for negligent manslaughter, he was sent to Fiorina 161 to serve his sentence and stayed with the custodial staff as the resident doctor.Clemens nursed Ellen Ripley, who had crashed landed on Fiorina 161, back to health and started showing around the correctional facility. He even starts a personal relationship with her, much to the annoyance of Harold Andrews, the warden of the facility. Clemens performs the autopsy on Newt as Ripley requested. He asks what they are looking for in the body of a girl who had obviously drowned, and Ripley tells him that they are investigating a possible case of cholera. Clemens firmly responds by stating that there hasn't been a case of cholera reported for 200 years.He knows that Ripley is hiding something from him, and to show that he would not lie to her, he explains why he has a bar code on the back of his head. When Clemens was on a residency, he got drunk after a long shift. The same night, there was a boiler explosion, causing forty injuries. Clemens was called back and, by prescribing the wrong pain killer dosage, was responsible for the deaths of 11 men. He was sentenced to Fiorina 161 and served his time, but chose to stay behind with the other inmates after they refused to leave. When Clemens ends his story, Ripley again lies about what has been going on around the prison. As Clemens injects her with a serum, the Alien lowers itself down behind him and lashes out through the curtains. After a very brief struggle, the Alien releases its inner jaw into Clemens' skull. Ripley and the mentally unstable Golic, strapped down in a bed, are the only witnesses.

 

Harold Andrews

Brian Glover as Harold Andrews, the prison warden. He believes Ripley's presence will cause disruption amongst the inmates and attempts to control the rumors surrounding her and the creature. He rejects her claims about the existence of such a creature, only to be killed by it.

 

 

Brian Glover was an English character actor, writer and wrestler who played Harold Andrews, Superintendent of the Fiorina 161 correctional unit, in Alien 3. By his own admission, he was known for portraying "bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshiremen.

 

AARON

Ralph Brown as Aaron, the assistant of Superintendent Andrews. The prisoners refer to him by the nickname "85", after his IQ score, which annoys him. He opposes Ripley's insistence that the prisoners must try to fight the alien, and repudiates her claim that Weyland-Yutani will collect the alien instead of them.

 

 

Francis Aaron was a prison guard on Fiorina 161. He was an assistant to Superintendent Andrews. Many of the prisoners refer to him as "85"; this is because of when he first came to this planet they found his file with his IQ being 85. Aaron usually responds to this by saying "Don't call me that," however they generally ignore his requests. He, like Andrews is not a religious type on 161 like many of the prisoners.

 

Before Aaron died he tried taking charge after Andrews' death, but the prisoners didn't allow it. They elected to have Dillon be the leader, who chose not to lead and appointed Ripley. In many parts of the movie he gets into heated arguments with Ripley and Morse. Aaron, having faith in Weyland-Yutani, states his belief that they'll take the survivors away to safety; Ripley rebuts, saying that they'd probably kill them just for having seen the creature. He argues with Morse and other prisoners simply because of his IQ and saying "At least I'm smart enough not to have a life sentence on this rock!"

 

Ripley demands that he sends the rescue ship away, but he refuses, wanting to go home. In time he helps Ripley scan herself to find that she has a Queen inside of her, inadvertently informing Weyland-Yutani that she has one inside of her, causing them to move faster to claim her. Back at the monitors, Weyland-Yutani leaves a message that the ship will be there to pick Ripley up in a matter of hours since everything on the planet goes to them they found out about the Alien and the CAT Scan. He then understands that they do not care but just want Ripley and the Alien. While the other prisoners try to kill the Alien, he stays pent up in his office. It's assumed that in there he loses all faith in Weyland-Yutani.

 

When the "rescue team" arrives and tried to convince Ripley to come with them, she refuses, and goes with Morse on the platform. Morse was then shot in the leg by one of the soldiers. As Michael Bishop was trying to convince Ripley and the others that it was a mistake, Aaron took a wrench and slammed it on the side of Bishop's head, nearly severing his ear. Aaron was then shoved away by a Weyland-Yutani trooper, and then shot by another causing him to fall off the catwalk and down onto the deck and left to die. He is last seen gasping for air on the floor.

                                                                    GOLIC

Paul McGann as Golic. A mass-murderer and outcast amongst the prison population, Golic becomes very disturbed after being assaulted by the alien in the prison's underground network of tunnels, gradually becoming more and more obsessed with the alien. In the Assembly Cut of the film, his obsession with and defense of the creature lead to murder, and his actions jeopardize the entire plan.

 

 

Golic is a prisoner of Fiorina 161. He has been found guilty of 32 murders and 13 accounts of arson. Golic is seen generally as an outcast in the prison.On a watch he, Boggs and Raines check out a flickering flame in the tunnel system. However, Rains and Edward Boggs are attacked and killed by the Alien. He is the only survivor of the attack. Finding that he is the only one to come back in the mess hall alone with blood splattered on his face, Andrews and the other prisoners subdue Golic in the prison mess hall and forcibly dress him in a straight jacket. He is taken to the infirmary where he insists he did not kill the two, but a 'dragon' killed them.Later on, Jonathan Clemens is killed, and the alien ignores Ripley in front of Golic, who only watches and mutters, "Magnificent". When Harold Andrews is killed the prisoners take action, and manage to trap it into the waste room. He is freed by Morse, who he knocks out and goes over to the waste room where Arthur stood guard. He told him he was going to set the beast free. He believed it talked to him and told him to set it free telepathically. He slashed Arthur's throat and opened the door. The "dragon" killed Golic and ran free.Walter Golic was a mentally unstable murderer who was not well liked even when he was stablized. Robert Morse is one of the few friends he has, despite everyone else dislikes him, fearing that he may well still be insane. According to inmates Boggs and Rains, Golic smelled badly due to poor personal hygiene, and the two refused to work with him, a situation that was resolved by Leonard Dillon who wanted to prevent disharmony among the inmates.

 

MORSE

Danny Webb as Morse, an acerbic, self-centered, and cynical prisoner. Although he is wounded by a company guard, Morse is the only survivor of the entire incident.

 

 

Robert Morse is a loud, argumentative inmate of Fiorina 161. As one of Golic's few friends, he often tells others what to do and, after Andrew's death, he often got into heated arguments with Aaron.When the alien started killing, Morse was quick to blame Ripley for the ensuing deaths, before eventually becoming pre-occupied with his own security. After the beast was trapped in the waste dump, Golic, now pronounced a "mental case" and strapped to a bed, convinced him to remove the strait-jacket. Golic then swiftly knocked out his "friend" with a fire extinguisher and went in search of the creature. Golic murdered another prisoner before releasing the alien, which then killed him in gratitude.

Morse narrowly escaped death from the alien during the bait and chase sequence. While Dillon was fighting the alien in the mould, Ripley ordered Morse to pour the lead, drowning the beast in molten metal. The alien escaped confinement after a brief boiling, saw Ripley and began climbing up the pipework. Noticing that she was near the sprinklers, Morse shouted at her to "douse the fucker!"
The sprinklers were activated, and the alien's metallic exoskeleton cooled rapidly and exploded. Shortly after the alien's destruction, Weyland-Yutani arrived for Ripley, but she refuses, knowing what their real intentions are. As she climbs onto the mobile platform with Morse, a soldier shoots Morse in the leg. Despite the agonizing pain, he stops the platform over the furnace and watches in astonishment as Ripley falls gracefully into the furnace, Much to the company's dismay. As everyone is evacuated, the soldiers bandage his leg and lead him out to the dropship, with Morse laughing and cursing at the Weyland-Yutani staff.After being re-assigned from Fury 161, he writes an account of the events on the prison planets, saying that Ellen Ripley sacrificed herself to save them from the "beast". However, the story was banned.Morse was a loud argumentative individual. He had no reservations on stating how he felt about anything. Morse also enjoyed picking fights at any opportunity, one of his favorites to fight with was Francis Aaron, who Morse constantly refered to as "85".
Morse would go against authority; even if it was well armed people. One example of this was when Morse was being lead away from the Fiorina 161 facility by Weyland-Yutani guards armed with M41A Pulse Rifles, laughing at them and insulting them. Besides being confrotational and aggressive, Morse also had a soft spot for his friend Walter Golic.

                                   Michael Bishop
Lance Henriksen as Michael Bishop. Credited as Bishop II, he appears in the film's final scenes, claiming to be the human designer of the Bishop android. He wants the alien Queen that is growing inside Ripley for use in Weyland-Yutani's bioweapons division.

Michael Bishop Weyland is an employee of Weyland-Yutani in the late 22nd century and bore a striking resemblance to his ancestor Charles Bishop Weyland, co-founder of Weyland Industries. In 2179 Michael Bishop was employed as a synthetic component designer and engineer for the Weyland-Yutani corporation and was dispatched to Fiorina 161 to retrieve Ellen Ripley from the Fiorina 161 Correctional Unit.

Not much is known about Michael Bishop Weyland's early life, but what is known is that at sometime prior to 2179, Michael was employed at Weyland-Yutani eventually becoming a Synthetic Component Designer. During this time, he designed several synthetics including the 341-B series that resembled him. In 2179, Michael was sent on a retrieval mission to acquire a xenomorph specimen for the Bio Weapons Division and to talk Lt. Ripley into cooperating, due to her having encountered one of his creations in the USCM.Michael Bishop was born on May 5, 2127.He was born in New York,UA.He arrived after the Dog Alien was destroyed by Ripley. He tried to convince the Lieutenant to come with him and have his team of doctors remove the Queen Alien gestating in her. Bishop was assaulted by Francis Aaron with a wrench and nearly had his ear ripped off. The security detail with him shot and killed Aaron for the incident. Michael then shouted that he wasn't a droid. Michael then let his cover slip telling Ripley he must have the creature and told her "think of all they could learn from it". Ripley refused to go with Bishop and committed suicide by gracefully falling into the furnace of the foundry. Michael shouted to no avail. He left with the team and the last survivor of the incident, prisoner Robert Morse.After the Rookie escapes from the self-destructing Pyramid and boards Weyland's dropship. Katya, Tequila and The Rookie are seen in stasis sleep while the pilots of the dropship transmit information from Weyland's data pad about the Xenomorph homeworld to "another Weyland" (probably Michael Bishop) or another synthetic copy of Karl Bishop Weyland.Michael was a synthetic component designer at Weyland-Yutani in the late 22nd century. He was known to have designed at least one line synthetics after his likeness. The synthetic Bishop (341-B) was one of those models Michael was known to be manipulative; particularly when he was sent to Fiorina 161 to "rescue" Lt. Ripley, stating that he wanted to destroy the creature inside her and that he was going to take her home. His bluff was called when Ripley; determined to destroy the creature in her and keep it out of the company's hands commited suicide to end it. Michael pleaded with her that it was a magnificent creature and he "must have it" revealing his selfish nature. Bishop was selfish and he thought the xenomorph species was a good bio weapon and he didn't care what he had to do to get that weapon.

 

                                                DAVID
Pete Postlethwaite as David, an inmate smarter than most who is killed by the creature in the bait-and-chase sequence.

 

JUNIOR

Holt McCallany as Junior, the leader of the group of inmates who attempt to rape Ripley. He has a tattoo of a tear drop underneath his left eye. In the Assembly Cut, he sacrifices himself to trap the alien as redemption.

 

 

Junior is one of the prisoners on Fiorina.Little is known about Junior, except that he was one of the 25 prisoners on Fury 161 who converted to the religion the rest of the prisoners follow. His crime that got him sent to the prison was likely rape, as he along with Gregor and another (possibly William) attempted to gang rape Ripley until Dillon intervened and "re-eductated" Junior by severely beating him with an iron rod. Junior is identifiable by the tear-drop tattoo under his right eye, and then after the beating Dillion gives him, he is identified by the large bandage on his head. In the theatrical version of Alien 3, Junior was simply killed in the explosion. In the 2003 Assembly Cut of the film, an entire sub-plot was restored which shows Junior redeem himself of his past sins when during the mayhem of the explosion, he goes to activate the sprinkers, and the alien cuts him off from the rest of the group. Junior then looks at Ripley with remorse, and proceeds to bait the alien to follow him into the waste container. After the alien chases Junior into the container, Ripley shuts the door behind them and we hear Junior's tortured screams from inside.

 

GREGOR

Peter Guinness as Gregor, one of the inmates who attempts to rape Ripley, he is bitten in the neck and killed by the Alien during the bait-and-chase sequence.

 

Gregor was one of the prisoners who assisted Junior in the attempted rape of Ellen Ripley at the junkyard. When Dillon makes it to the scene and attacks Junior, it is evident that Gregor was severely beaten as well.

Not much is known about Gregor, but he was one of the prisoners living on Florina 161. Upon the arrival of Lieutenant Ellen Ripley after a deadly ship crash took place on the planet (ending with her being the only survivor), Gregor assisted Junior in attempting to rape the woman, as she was the only woman on the planet. They were caught, and it is implied that they were beaten by Dillon after he stopped them.
Later on in the film, during the explosion, Gregor was badly burned in the fire and uses white bandaging to treat the burns. After the failed attempt to trap the Alien in the toxic waste dump, Gregor joins the rest of the inmates and uses himself as bait to lure the Alien into the lead mold. As he runs down a hall away from the Alien, he has a head on collision with Morse and the two fall to the floor. They both stand up and, assuming that the other prisoner is the Alien, attempt to attack each other before recognizing each other. Finding some humor in this situation, the two of them share a lighthearted moment, laughing and fooling around. As the two giggle at their predicament, the creature charges up from behind Morse and bites Gregor in the neck.

          Christopher Fairbank (as Murphy

Thomas Murphy is a prisoner who is younger than most of the prisoners on Fiorina He spent most of his early life on the run from the law. A conversation between Frank and Murphy in the assembly cut implies that he has been sentenced to prison for sexual deviance and probably abuse as well. He appears to have a shorter prison sentence than most and often volunteers to help in efforts (like finding survivors from the EEV) in attempts to shave a few months off of his sentence. He is the first person killed by the Alien. He is first introduced in the theatrical cut searching the EEV for survivors with his dog, and later mourns over it after the alien emerges from it (though he thinks a human did it). Later, he is seen cleaning the giant air ducts of the prison. He steps on the aliens shed skin and is clearly disgusted by his find. He hears noises coming from a hole in the wall, and goes to investigate, believing it to be his dog, Spike. He soon realizes it is not his pet pooch but a juvenile Alien. Before he can pull his head out of the hole, the alien spits acid into his face. He stammers backwards in agony and accidentally tumbles into a large spinning fan, killing him instantaneously.

 

Phil Davis (as Kevin

Kevin is a jittery and nervous inmate serving time on Fiorina 161.

He assisted Clemens with the autopsy of Newt that Ripley requested. He alerts Clemens to the odd searches Ripley is performing on the body. He later argues with David about the alien and its capabilities shortly after they witness it killing Andrews.
Later on, Kevin is one of the prisoners acting as bait to lead the Alien into the lead mold. After he closes a door, cutting himself off from the creature in the corridors, he warns everyone that the alien is very "pissed off." When the Runner eventually catches him, it pulls him onto the ceiling where Dillon eventually finds him and pulls him down. Dillon and Ripley drag him towards the furnace, but Kevin soon bleeds to death on the floor of the piston chamber. After he dies, Ripley suggests they leave the body, but the Runner quickly returns, takes the body, and causes the piston to start too early

 

 

Vincenzo Nicoli (as Jude

Allan Jude was one of the many inmates residing inside the prison on the planet Fiorina 161 who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in the first degree without a weapon

In 2179, Ellen Ripley crash landed on Fiorina 161 after the EEV ejected her along with Corporal Hicks, Newt and Bishop from the Sulaco due to the presence of the facehugger. The facehugger eventually emerged from the wreakage of the EEV and impregnated the prison dog, Spike. A xenomorph eventually ruptured from Spike and matured to its adult form. It began a killing spree in the prison, causing mass hysteria among the prisoners. Superintendent Andrews tried to take control of the situation, but was killed by the Alien during his "rumor control".
When the prisoners banded together to trap the Alien in molten lead, Jude carried a pair of scissors to use as a weapon against the beast, when he is reprimanded by Morse for carrying them the wrong way. As more and more inmates are killed off, Jude eventually is chased towards the end of a corridor where Dillon is waiting for him. Dillon calls for Jude to run faster, but the Alien catches up quickly. Jude reaches Dillon, but the alien headbites him while he is running, and his body goes flying across the room.

                            Leon Herbert (as Boggs)

Edward Boggs was a large inmate who is assigned to accompany Rains and Golic on a routine foraging mission through the tunnels of the prison complex on Fiorina 161

Boggs and Rains are both very vocal about not minding the dark tunnels, but they do firmly state that they feel uncomfortable around Golic, stating that he is crazy and smells bad. Dillon is the one to remind them that he is now one of the brothers as well. Boggs and Rains have no choice but to go with Golic. As the three are measuring the size of a large compartment, the candles they have lit to see in the dark start blowing out. A perplexed Rains goes back to light them again, but he doesn't come back.
Boggs and Golic venture out to see what is happening after hearing his screams, though they arrive too late. The two of them find the bloody body and Boggs is subsequently lifted to the ceiling and bitten in the cranium by the Runner. His blood sprays all over Golic's face, who screams in terror and runs down the hallways. It was wrongly assumed by Superintendent Harold Andrews that Golic murdered Boggs and Rains.

                 Christopher John Fields (as Rains

Rains was an inmate who resided in the correctional unit on Fiorina 161.He was one of three prisoners consisting of himself, Edward Boggs, and Golic to venture into the abandoned tunnels of the complex to scavenge. He was ambushed and killed by a creature that was roaming the prison complex.

 

 Niall Buggy (as Eric

Eric is the jittery inmate who serves as the cook for the correctional unit on Fiorina 161.

In 2179, Ellen Ripley crash landed on Fiorina 161 after the EEV ejected her along with Corporal Hicks, Newt and Bishop from the Sulaco due to the presence of the facehugger. A facehugger eventually emerged from the wreakage of the EEV and impregnated the prison dog, Spike. A Xenomorph eventually ruptured from Spike and matures to its adult form. It begins a killing spree in the prison, causing mass hysteria among the prisoners. Superintendent Andrews tried to take control of the situation, but was killed by the Alien during his "rumor control".
He is killed by the Alien during the plan to trap it in the furnace. He uses a meat cleaver as a weapon against the monster, and his body is found by Ripley.

                             Carl Chase (as Frank

 

Frank is an inmate has served many years of his life sentence on Fiorina 161 and is a good friend of Thomas Murphy

Frank was an inmate on Fiorina 161 in 2179, when Ellen Ripley crash landed on the prison planet after an EEV ejected her along with Corporal Hicks, Newt and Bishop from the USS Sulaco due to the presence of the facehugger. The facehugger eventually emerged from the wreckage of the EEV and impregnated the prison dog, Spike. A Xenomorph eventually ruptured from Spike and quickly matured to its adult form. It began a killing spree in the prison, causing mass hysteria among the prisoners. Superintendent Andrews tried to take control of the situation, but was killed by the alien during his "rumor control".
Ripley rallies the inmates and proposes they pour Quinitricetyline, a highly flammable toxic waste which is stored at the facility, into the ventilation system and ignite it to flush out the creature. Frank is killed when the alien leaps out of a dark shaft an grabs him. As a result, he drops a paintbrush full of Quinitricetyline, which in turn causes a massive explosion that killed several prisoners.It is hinted that he was sentenced to Fiorina 161 for raping and murdering women, as he states that the only way to have a good relationship is to treat women abusively.

                            Clive Mantle (as William

William is a large but panicky inmate serving a sentence at the Fiorina 161 Correctional Unit William was a member of the group of prisoners who tried to rape Ripley. He was later seen agonizing over who would direct the prisoners after Andrews' death. He and Gregor are later paired together during the attempt to drown the alien in hot lead, put is kiled in trying to lure it in.

 

Deobia Oparei (as Arthur).

Arthur is a huge inmate who resided in the correctional unit on Fiorina 161.He is first seen in the group of prisoners who attempt to rape Ellen Ripley but are stopped when Dillon intervenes. He is present when Andrews gives his second 'Rumor Control' speech in the mess hall and is a witness of his death. Arthur is seen again later when the group decide who is in charge. When the prisoners prepare to capture the Alien, Arthur and Troy are seen checking flashlight batteries briefly, and Troy complains about the difficulty of the job. After the explosion, Arthur is in a search party for surviving prisoners, though they find none. He is then put on a guard duty to watch the door of the waste tank. While Arthur is on duty, Golic approaches the waste tank. Arthur tells the insanely babbling criminal to get lost, but Golic quickly slits his throat with a straight razor. Arthur looks at Golic in stunned disbelief, and quickly bleeds to death from the injury while Golic screams a panicked, maniacal apology.

 

 

Visual effects

Stan Winston, responsible for creature effects in Aliens, was approached but was not available. Winston instead recommended Tom Woodruff, Jr. and Alec Gills, two former workers of his studio who had just started their own company, Amalgamated Dynamics.
 

The Alien is portrayed by both Woodruff, Jr. in a suit and a rod puppet filmed against bluescreen and optically composited into the live-action footage. A mechanical alien head was also used for close-ups.The suit adapted the design used in Aliens so Woodruff could walk on all fours.Woodruff's head was contained in the neck of the suit, because the head was filled with animatronics to move the mouth of the Alien.

Director David Fincher suggested that a whippet be dressed in an alien costume for on-set coverage of the quadrupedal alien, but the visual effects team was dissatisfied with the comical result and the idea was dropped in favor of the puppet.

A small number of shots contain CGI elements, most notably the cracking alien head. Other CGI elements include shadows cast by the (rod puppet) alien, and airborne debris in outdoor scenes.

 

Music

The film's composer, Elliot Goldenthal, spent a year composing the score by working closely with Fincher to create music based primarily on the surroundings and atmosphere of the film itself. The score was recorded during the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which Goldenthal later claimed contributed to the score's disturbing nature.The choral segment featured in the opening titles, performed by boy soprano, is "Agnus Dei" ("Lamb of God"), from the Catholic Mass, and was included as a reference to the prisoners as lambs being led to the slaughter.

 

 

Alien Resurrection is a science fiction film released in 1997 by 20th Century Fox, and the fourth installment in the Alien franchise. The film was directed by French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with a screenplay by Joss Whedon. Alien Resurrection was the first film in the Alien series to be filmed outside of England, at Fox studios in Los Angeles, California.

In the film, which is set 200 years after the preceding installment Alien 3, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is cloned and an Alien queen is surgically removed from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study and research on the spaceship USM Auriga, using human hosts kidnapped and delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to escape and destroy the Auriga before it reaches its destination, Earth.
 

Alien Resurrection was released on November 26, 1997 and received mixed reviews from film critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times felt "there is not a single shot in the movie to fill one with wonder", while Desson Thomson of The Washington Post said the film "satisfactorily recycles the great surprises that made the first movie so powerful". The film earned $161 million, recouping more than twice its $75 million budget.

 

Plot

Two hundred years after the events of Alien 3, military scientists on the outer space vessel USM Auriga create a clone of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), using DNA from blood samples taken before her death. They extract the embryo of an Alien queen that had been growing inside her at the time of her death, raise it, and collect its eggs for further use. The Ripley clone is kept alive for further study. As a result of her DNA being mixed with the Alien's during the cloning process, she develops enhanced strength and reflexes, acidic blood, and an empathic link with the Aliens.
 

A group of mercenaries arrive in their ship, the Betty, delivering several kidnapped humans in stasis. The military scientists use the kidnapped humans as hosts for the Aliens, raising several adult Aliens for study. The Betty crew soon encounter Ripley. Call (Winona Ryder) recognizes her name and tries to kill her, believing she may be used to create more Aliens. Call is too late; the Aliens have already matured and quickly escape confinement, damaging the Auriga and killing most of its crew. Military scientist Dr. Wren (J. E. Freeman) reveals that the ship's default command in an emergency is to return to Earth. Realizing this will unleash the Aliens on Earth, Ripley, the mercenaries, Wren, a marine named DiStefano (Raymond Cruz), and surviving Alien host Purvis (Leland Orser) decide to head for the Betty and use it to destroy the Auriga.

As the group make their way through the damaged ship, several of them are killed by Aliens. Call is revealed to be an android after Wren betrays the group. Using her ability to interface with the Auriga's systems, she sets it on a collision course with Earth, hoping to destroy the Aliens in the crash. Wren takes Call hostage, demanding she abort the collision. Purvis holds Wren's head to his chest just as the Alien embryo he is carrying bursts through his ribcage, causing it to go through Wren's head and kill him.

Ripley discovers that the Alien queen has gained a human ability from her DNA as well: now possessing a womb, it can give birth to live offspring without the need for eggs and human hosts. The resulting newborn, bearing a mixture of human and Alien traits, recognizes Ripley as its mother and kills the Alien queen and Dr. Gediman (Brad Dourif).
 

Ripley and the surviving mercenaries make their way to the Betty. As they launch, the newborn hybrid attacks Call and kills DiStefano. Ripley kills it by using her own acidic blood to burn a hole through a viewpane, causing the creature to be sucked violently through the hole and into the vacuum of space. The survivors escape in the Betty as the Auriga collides into Earth.

 

Cast

Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, reprising her role from the previous three Alien films. After having committed suicide at the finale of Alien 3, Ripley has been cloned using blood samples so that the military may extract the Alien queen growing inside her. As a result of the cloning process Ripley has been affected by the Alien queen's DNA. She has enhanced strength and reflexes, acidic blood, and can sense the presence of the Aliens.

 

 

General Perez 

Dan Hedaya as General Perez. Perez is the commanding officer of the Auriga and supervises the experiments to clone Ripley and study the Aliens.

 

 

General Martin Perez was the commanding Military General of the medical research lab aboard the Auriga, where Ripley was being cloned for the Alien Queen's resurrection

After Ripley 8 attacked a few of the staff, she was subdue. He fears that Ripley 8 will have memories of Ellen Ripley and he also fears that she'll kill the Xenomorphs just like Ellen Ripley did.Perez apparently did some transactions with Elgyn in the past. Elgyn gets down to business with Perez over the latest shipment while his crew make themselves comfortable on the Auriga After throwing a grenade into an escape pod carrying a stowaway alien, he is bitten in the back of the head by yet another of the creatures, exposing his brains, which he proceeds to examine before dying.Throughout the film, Perez was shown to be petty and unwilling, often rushing procedures and deals just for the purpose of a profit; this was displayed when he came in to see the Queen, nervously asking on its production. Something similar was also shown when he threatened to subdue Ripley 8 after a violent incident with another soldier.

 

Dr.Wren

J. E. Freeman as Dr. Wren. Wren is one of several scientists aboard the Auriga involved in cloning Ripley and studying the Aliens. After the Aliens escape he joins the protagonists in their attempt to flee the ship.

Dr. Mason Wren is one of the seven scientists who worked on resurrecting the alien queen from reconstituted DNA of Ellen Ripley from Fury 161 in the form of Ripley 8. He serves as the main human antagonist of Alien Resurrection When he discovered that Call, an android member of the pirate crew of The Betty, was attempting to work on the inside to kill Ripley 8 and extinguish the Xenomorph species, he attempts to have her shot as a "terrorist." Wren also orders the execution of the other pirates from The Betty for association. There is a small fight between the soldiers and the pirates. This failed and the pirates capture Wren and one of the soldiers. Wren acted as a guide until he betrayed them, shooting Call non-fatally and heading to The Betty, hoping to get there before the others and escape, stranding them with the aliens. He attempted to try to bring the Aliens to Earth. He is killed when Purvis attacks him in a violent fit of rage, forcing Wren's head to his chest moments before the chestburster emerges, killing them both Wren is a seemingly immoral man, having no qualms with killing innocents for the furtherance of science. Wren is confident and often smug when talking to Ripley 8. Sometimes he panders to her and other times he is genuinely interested in what she has to say.

 

DR.GEDIMAN

Brad Dourif as Dr. Gediman, another of the scientists involved in cloning Ripley and studying the Aliens.

 

Dr. Jonathan Gediman is one of five scientists who perform the operation on the Ripley clone to retrieve the queen chestbuster.

Aboard the Auriga, the United Systems Military was finally able to perfectly cloned Ellen Ripley after numerous failed attempts. Under the supervision of Dr. Mason Wren and the other researchers, Gediman performed the surgery to extract the Queen chestburster and ended in success. The USM begins the repopulation process of the Xenomorphs through the use eggs produced by the Queen and impregnating the many human victims they kidnapped. While Dr. Gediman was given the duty to observe the captive Xenomorphs, Gediman begins to taunt a particular Drone who was snarling at him by playfully baring his teeth at it however the Drone uses its inner jaw to scare him off. The angered Gediman sprays the Drone with nitrogen to "teach it a lesson" and the two came to an understanding about what happens if the button is pushed.
He then witnessed the drones killing one of their own, resulting the floor to dissolve, before he could stop them the captive xenomorphs had already escaped. He enters the xenomorphs' enclosure to investigate, only to be grabbed by a Drone and taken below decks to the Queen's chamber where he is then cocooned by the Drones. When Ripley 8 is taken to the Queen, Gediman (who may have gone insane during his cocooning) is overjoyed to witness the Queen painfully give birth to the mutant Newborn. The Newborn shares a bonding moment with its mother before killing her, much to Gediman's horror. It then advances toward Gediman and bites into the top of his skull, spilling his brains Gediman is somewhat eccentric: at one point he playfully bares his teeth at a Xenomorph that is snarling at him behind a glass divider. Oddly though, he is also has a sympathetic side; he insists that Ripley 8 not be destroyed but studied, and generally treats her more like a "person". During his dealings with and on the subject of Ripley, he referred to her as a she, while Wren called her an it. He seemed to sympathize somewhat with Ripley, unlike Wren. he was also crying when the human cargo were about about to become hosts, showing that he is more moral than Wren and Perez.

                               DR.WILLIAMSON
Carolyn Campbell as Dr. Williamson, the third member of the science team responsible for cloning Ripley.

 

Dr. Carlyn Williamson was an anesthesiologist on the USM Auriga who taught Ripley 8 how to communicate verbally.

Aboard the Auriga, the United Systems Military was finally able to perfectly cloned Ellen Ripley after numerous failed attempts and successfully extracted the Queen embryo within her. The USM begins the re-population process of the xenomorphs through the use eggs produced by the Queen and impregnating the many human victims they kidnapped.
While observing the captive xenomorphs, she and Dr. Gediman witnessed the xenomorphs killing one of their own, resulting the floor to dissolve and allowing the captive aliens to escape. She then saw Gediman being dragged by one of the xenomorphs, much to her horror. She was last seen in the escape pod that was successfully launched from the Auriga, her ultimate fate remains unknown.

                                     DR.SPRAGUE
David St. James as Dr. Sprague, another member of the Auriga's science team.

 

Dr. Dan Sprague is one of five scientists who perform the operation on the Ripley clone to retrieve the Queen chestbuster.

Aboard the Auriga, the United Systems Military was finally able to perfectly cloned Ellen Ripley after numerous failed attempts and successfully extracted the Queen embryo within her. The USM begins the repopulation process of the Xenomorphs through the use eggs produced by the Queen and impregnating the many human victims they kidnapped. Sprague's fate after the Xenomorphs' escape onboard the Auriga remains unknown.

                                             DiStefano
Raymond Cruz as DiStefano. DiStefano is a soldier in the United Systems Military, stationed aboard the Auriga. When the Aliens break out, he joins the protagonists in their attempt to escape from the ship.

 

Vincent DiStephano was one of the security officers in Alien Resurrection. He was stationed on the USM Auriga in around 2379.He was one of the guards at hand when General Perez, the commanding officer of the Auriga, ordered he and the other guards to arrest the crew of The Betty. This sparked a conflict between the mercenaries and the guards. The mercenaries ultimately won, taking Dr. Mason Wren and DiStephano hostage. The Xenomorphs being studied aboard the Auriga escaped shortly thereafter, forcing Distephano, Wren, Ripley 8 and the mercenaries to work together to escape the ship alive. DiStephano eventually earned the trust of the Betty soldiers and fought along side them, choosing to defend them against Wren in the face of his treachery.After Distephano and the others escape the Auriga aboard The Betty, when Call doesn't respond to Ripley 8's messages, Distephano is sent to check up on her. He treads out, only to be greeted by the Newborn, which promptly crushes his head in his grip Unlike his immoral superiors Wren and General Perez, Distephano was a decent person, defending the crew of the Betty against Wren and coming to check on Call. This shows compassion for others which his crewmates did not have.

 

Frank Elgyn

Michael Wincott as Frank Elgyn, captain of the mercenary ship Betty. Elgyn brings the Betty to the Auriga in order to sell kidnapped humans in cryostasis to General Perez. He is romantically involved with Hillard.

 

 

Frank Elgyn was the captain of the smuggling ship the Betty. Unlike the rest of the crew, he did not carry any concealed weapons onboard the USM Auriga when they drop off the human cargo which Dr. Mason Wren and his cohorts intend to use to create Xenomorphs. Elgyn appears to have had a preexisting relationship with General Perez who was the commanding officer of the Auriga. It is shown that they are familiar with each other in the way they speak to each other and general body language upholds the fact that they have had encounters before and possibly done business before.

Elgyn apparently had some transactions with General Perez in the past. Elgyn gets down to business with General Perez over the latest shipment while his crew make themselves comfortable on the Auriga. He later spends quality time with Hillard after dealing with his superior officer. Unknown to him; his fellow crewmember Annalee Call, was sneaking around restricted areas on the ship, only to be caught by Wren.
The doctor has the Betty's crew arrested and held, claiming them to be terrorists. Elgyn, clearly annoyed and angered with Call for her ulterior motives, said that he will straighten this out with her later. Elgyn tried negotiating his way out of the situation, but Wren was set on dealing with the entire crew since they were a threat to his plans. Several of the crew attack using concealed weapons that they carried onboard the ship, killing most of their captors and taking a guard and Dr. Wren hostage.
In the chaos, Elgyn collects many firearms his crew will be battling the marines and the experiments with to get off the ship. During the escape he notices a trail of the weapons going down a corridor. The weapons were just bait for a trap, and Elgyn fell for. He was then killed by an alien who reaches up from underneath the floor paneling, grabs him, and yanks him under, before impaling him with its inner jaw. Hillard was extremely distressed by Elgyn's death.Elgyn was romantically involved with one of his crewmen, Sabra Hillard. They appear to have been deeply involved and possibly in love. A passionate scene of Elgyn massaging Sabra's feet shows this connection. Elgyn's successful career as smuggler had made him arrogant, to the point where he likes telling jokes about his crewmember's stupidity; with the exception of Hillard.

                                    Sabra Hillard
Kim Flowers as Sabra Hillard, the assistant pilot of the Betty who is romantically involved with Elgyn.

 

Sabra Hillard is the assistant pilot of the Betty and the love interest of Frank Elgyn.

She was involved with the crew when they stole the hypersleep tubes of several refinery workers and delivered them to the USM research ship The Auriga.
After the death of Elgyn, she became an emotional wreck and hesitated when the others dived into the flooded kitchen and because of her slowness and swimming ability that was affected by her panic, a Xenomorph was able to catch up with her and grab her, its unknown how she died as its not shown, its speculated that she either drowned, killed by the Xenomorph or was captured, facehugged and killed by a chestburster.
She is more compassionate than most of the other members of the crew. She agrees with Call when she wants to find a way to avoid killing Purvis, one of the people who's body they stole. They appear to have a had a passionate affair and she was emotionally awestruck when Elgyn was killed by a XenemorphSabra Hillard primary weapon was a burner shockrifle taken from a Aurgia soldier. She would later lose this weapon when trying to swim away from the xenomorph.

                                        Christie
Gary Dourdan as Christie, the first mate and second in command of the Betty.

 

Christie was Frank Elgyn's right hand man onboard The Betty He was involved with the crew when they stole the hypersleep tubes of several refinery workers and delivered them to the research ship, the USM Auriga. During the Xenomorph outbreak, he assisted the crew in getting to the Betty, by serving as a backup leader when Elgyn died. Latter, when the crew was forced to swim through a flooded part of the ship, Vriess ask to 'lose the chair', and Christie strapped his fellow crewmember to his back. Christie supposedly died from the severe acid burn caused by a Xenomorph pursuing him up a ladder, and dove into the water with the alien grabbing onto to his foot Christie was the most stable crew member and had good leadership qualities. Christie also was prepared for tense situations, such as when he brought two concealed pistols on to the Auriga.

 

Johner

Ron Perlman as Johner, a mercenary and member of the Betty's crew. Johner plays jokes and has a bad temper, and teases Vriess about his handicap.

 

 

Johner is a mercenary who served onboard the Betty.

He is first seen toying with a knife before throwing it into John Vriess' leg when Call breaks it because she annoyed at his selfish flirtatious antics. Johner had a hand in the breeding of Xenomorphs on board the Auriga military research vessel, albeit indirectly. He, along with the rest of the crew of the Betty stole the hypersleep tubes of several civilians and handed them off to the scientists onboard the Auriga.
Johner is forced to fight for his survival when the Xenomorphs bred on Augriga break out of containment and infested the ship. He along with the surviving crewmembers eventually reached the Betty, but are confronted by Dr. Wren. Purvis, the survivor they rescued while venturing the Auriga sacrificed himself and killed Wren using the Chestburster gestating within him. He along with Vriess later piloted the Betty to safety and heads for Earth.Johner is shown to be an apha-male. He is abrasive and attitudinal, and shows sexual interest in Call and in Ripley 8.Johner carries a 'Thermos Gun' which he snuck through security along with other weapons he salvages from the fallen Auriga soldiers. Johner wielded an incinerator taken from fallen soldier and later wield dual USM pistols.

                                             Vriess
Dominique Pinon as Vriess, the Betty's mechanic. A paraplegic, he uses a motorized wheelchair. Vriess shares a close friendship with Call and an antagonistic relationship with Johner.

John Vriess was the engineer aboard the starship Betty. Vriess was disabled from the waist down as a result of shrapnel injuries sustained on the swamp planet Kawlang and was bound to a wheelchair.

He was involved with the crew when they stole the hypersleep tubes of several refinery workers and delivered them to the USM research ship The Auriga. During the Xenomorph outbreak, he was able to drive away a lone Xenomorph and reunite with the rest of the crew.
He along with the surviving crewmembers eventually reached the Betty, but are confronted by Dr. Wren. Purvis, the survivor they rescued while venturing the Auriga sacrificed himself and killed Wren using the Chestburster gestating within him. He along with Johner the piloted the Betty to safety and heads for Earth He is apparently good friends with Christie and seems to have a strong friendship with Call, who is relatively new to the group.Despite being disabled, Vriess still remains a valuable member to the crew of The Betty, such as using his wheelchair to smuggle weapons aboard the USM Auriga. Vriess manged to bring on the Auriga an concealed shotgun and later an concealed grenade launcher.

                                       Annalee Call
Winona Ryder as Annalee Call, the newest crew member of the Betty. She recognizes Ripley and has knowledge of the Aliens. Call is revealed during the course of the film to be an android and helps the surviving protagonists interface with the Auriga.

 

Annalee Call (better known as simply Call) was a secret Auton agent aboard the Betty given orders to kill Ripley 8 before the young Queen gestating inside of her could be removed. She was too late and nearly caused the entire crew of the Betty to be killed when General Perez, the commanding officer of the Auriga, accused the crew of the Betty of being terrorists and threatened execution. She, along with Ripley 8, Johner, and Vriess are the only survivors of the Auriga incident.

Call, along with the Betty's crew, docked with the Auriga to unload human cargo. She went to search for Ripley 8 but was caught along with the rest of the crew and put at gunpoint, though they easily overtook their captors. After the aliens got loose she showed extreme disdain towards Ripley and was disgusted when she had to accompany her and the other survivors, fearing Ripley's sympathy for the aliens and the possibility that she would turn on them. She later came to respect her and the two of them, along with Vriess and Johner, made it out in time.
After the Auriga crashed on Earth, Call found herself stranded outside the city limits of what appears to Paris after some kind of catastrophe that left the city in ruins.

                                             Purvis
Leland Orser as Purvis. Purvis is one of several humans who have been kidnapped by the crew of the Betty while in cryosleep and delivered to the Auriga to serve as hosts for the Aliens. Despite having an Alien growing inside him, Purvis joins the surviving protagonists in an attempt to escape the Auriga.

 

Larry Purvis was kidnapped by mercenaries to be used in a USM plot.

Purvis was one of the many test subjects who were kidnapped for experimentation and impregnated. The only survivor of the cargo, Purvis is very fearful when approached by Ripley, who mentions that Purvis already has an embryo inside him. Call offers to take him along so they can freeze him in cryostasis, where they can later remove the embryo. Purvis joins the remaining survivors of the Auriga and the Betty crew in an attempt to escape the xenomorph infested spaceship. After swimming through the flooded halls where Hillard is killed, and witnessing Christie's valiant death in order to spare his friend Vriess, Purvis watches as Call is shot down by Dr. Wren (who runs off and leaves the crew to die). As Call resurfaces on the upper level and opens the jammed doors from the interior, Purvis is shocked to see she's still alive. Call's revelation of being an android model is explained thoroughly (whilst DiStephano becomes excited about this, Purvis remarks that she's a "toaster oven", in sarcasm) and Purvis' keeps his primary intention of escaping the spaceship his main objective as he relentlessly mentions that he's extremely tired. As they come closer to reaching the Betty, Purvis begins to show signs of the chestburster within him, as he attempts to control the monster from erupting.Once the crew does reach the Betty, Call instructs that Johner should place Purvis in the freezer for cryo-sleep. Purvis is shot down when the group is ambushed by the evil Dr. Wren. While Wren is arguing with the crew, Purvis is convulsing as blood pours out of his mouth. While holding Call as a hostage, Wren orders that the others follow his instructions. However, this doesn't affect Purvis, who is now in complete agony. Purvis eventually gets to his feet and staggers over to the mad scientist, surviving numerous gunshots before relentlessly pounding the villain into some steel steps. Purvis then manages to kill Wren by positioning himself so that his chestburster forces its way through his chest and simultaneously through Wren's skull. As Purvis bleeds from every pore, the chestburster is still clinging through the carnage, until Johner, DiStephano, and Call unload their bullets into the chestburster, eradicating it. Although Purvis perished in the heat of the conflict, he sacrificed himself in order to save the remainder of the crew and obtained eternal vengeance against the wicked Dr. Wren, who had placed Purvis in this horrid situation for his own experimentation.When purvis is first encountered, he is nervous and scared which is understandable after what he had seen. After Ripley 8 tells the others that Larry has an alien inside him, he panics and demands to know what it is. He later regains his composure and helps the others.

 

Origins

Impressed with his work as a screenwriter, 20th Century Fox hired Joss Whedon to write the film's script. Whedon's initial screenplay had a third act on Earth, with a final battle for Earth itself.Whedon wrote five versions of the final act, none of which ended up in the film.
 

The studio initially imagined that the film would center around a clone of the character Newt from Aliens, as the Ellen Ripley character had died at the end of Alien 3. Whedon composed a thirty-page treatment surrounding this idea before being informed that the studio, though impressed with his script, now intended to base the story on a clone of Ripley, whom they saw as the anchor of the series. Whedon had to rewrite the script in a way that would bring back the Ripley character, a task he found difficult. The idea of cloning was suggested by producers David Giler and Walter Hill, who opposed the production of Alien Resurrection, as they thought it would ruin the franchise

Sigourney Weaver, who had played Ripley throughout the series, wanted to liberate the character in Alien 3 as she did not want Ripley to become "a figure of fun" who would continuously "wake up with monsters running around". The possibility of an Alien vs. Predator film was another reason for the character's death, as she thought the concept "sounded awful". However, Weaver was impressed with Whedon's script. She thought that the error during Ripley's cloning process would allow her to further explore the character, since Ripley becoming part human and part alien would create uncertainty about where her loyalties lay. This was an interesting concept to Weaver, who thought the film brought back the spirit of Alien and Aliens. Weaver received a co-producer's credit and was reportedly paid $11 million.

 

 

Direction and design

Trainspotting director Danny Boyle was the producers' first choice to direct the film. Boyle and his producer met with effects supervisors to discuss the film, but he was not interested in pursuing the project. Peter Jackson was also approached, but declined as he could not get excited about an Alien film. In 1995, after the release of The Usual Suspects, 20th Century Fox approached Bryan Singer to direct. Jean-Pierre Jeunet was asked to direct, as the film's producers believed he had a unique visual style. Jeunet had just completed the script to Amélie and was surprised he was offered the job for Alien Resurrection, as he thought the franchise had finished with Alien 3 and believed that making a sequel was a bad idea. Jeunet, however, accepted the project with a budget of $70 million. He required a translator as he did not speak much English when filming began.

Jeunet hired French special effects supervisor Pitof and cinematographer Darius Khondji, both of whom he had worked with on The City of Lost Children. Jeunet and his crew watched the latest science fiction and Alien films as reference material, and obtained production reports from the Alien films to study the camera setups. Jeunet was given creative control, contributing several elements to the script including five different endings, although the expensive ones were dismissed. He also opted to make the film a dark comedy and was encouraged to include more violence. In June 1996, Jeunet's frequent co-director, conceptual artist Marc Caro had drawn rough sketches of characters' costumes, which were shown to veteran costume designer Bob Ringwood. Ringwood made several modifications for the final design.

 

Creatures

Special effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI) was hired for the film, having previously worked on Alien 3. ADI founders Tom Woodruff, Jr. and Alec Gillis also had experience working with Stan Winston on Aliens. ADI based their designs and modifications of the Alien creatures on the film's script, which included the creatures having pointed tails for swimming, making their head domes and chins more pointed, and establishing them to appear more vicious using techniques of camera angles and shot duration. After receiving the director's approval, ADI began to create small sculptures, sketches, paintings, and life-size models.

Jeunet asked ADI to lean towards making the human/Alien hybrid creature more human than Alien. An early concept was to replicate Sigourney Weaver's features, although the crew felt this design would be too similar to the design of the creature Sil from the 1995 film Species. Eyes and a nose were added to the hybrid to allow it to have more expressions and communicate more emotion than the Aliens, so that it would have more depth as a character rather than being "just a killing machine". Jeunet was adamant about the hybrid having genitalia which resembled a mix of both male and female sexes. 20th Century Fox was uncomfortable with this, however, and Jeunet eventually changed his mind, feeling that "even for a Frenchman, it's too much".The genitalia were removed during post-production using digital effects techniques. The animatronic hybrid required nine puppeteers and was the most complex animatronic in the film.

 

The original design of the human/Alien hybrid included a mix of male and female genitalia, which was removed during post-production

 

 Filming

Alien Resurrection was filmed at Fox studios in Los Angeles, California, from October 1996 to February 1997. Jeunet had difficulty securing studio space, as the filming of Hollywood blockbusters such as Titanic, Starship Troopers, and The Lost World: Jurassic Park were taking place at the same time. Alien Resurrection was the first installment in the Alien series to be filmed outside of England, a decision made by Weaver, who believed that the previous films' travel schedules exhausted the crew.

The underwater scene was the first to be shot, and for its filming Stage 16 at Fox Studios was reconstructed into a 36 by 45 meter tank, 4.5 meters deep, containing 548,000 gallons of water The decision was made to convert the stage rather than film the scene elsewhere, since moving the film crew to the nearest adequate facility in San Diego would have been too costly for a single scene, and by converting Stage 16 20th Century Fox would be able to use the tank for future films. Because of the aquatic filming, the ability to swim was a prerequisite for cast and crew when signing onto the film. The cast trained in swimming pools in Los Angeles with professional divers to learn how to use the equipment. An additional two and a half weeks of training took place at the studio with stunt coordinator Ernie Orsatti and underwater cinematographer Peter Romano. Weaver, however, was unable to participate in most of the training due to commitments on Broadway. Winona Ryder faced a challenge with the scene, as she had nearly drowned at age 12 and had not been in the water since. She suggested using a body double, but knew that it would be too obvious to audiences due to the difference in hair length. She filmed the scene, but suffered from anxiety on the first day of filming.

Director Jeunet wanted to display Ripley's new powers, including a scene in which Ripley throws a basketball through a hoop while facing the opposite direction. Weaver trained for ten days and averaged one out of six baskets, although the distance required for filming was farther than she had practiced. Jeunet was concerned about the time being spent on the shot and wanted to either use a machine to throw the ball or to insert it later using computer-generated imagery (CGI). Weaver, however, was determined to make the shot authentic, and got the ball in perfectly on the sixth take. The ball was out of frame for a moment during the shot, and Pitof offered to edit it so that the ball was on-screen for the entire scene, but Weaver refused. Ron Perlman broke character when she made the basket, and turned to the camera to say "Oh my god!" There was enough of a pause between Weaver's basket and Perlman's statement for the film's editors to cut the scene accordingly during post-production.

 

Visual effects and miniatures

The film's script was laid out similar to a comic book, with pictures on the left and dialog and descriptions on the right. Jeunet planned every shot, which made it easier for visual effects artists to do their work. Blue Sky Studios was hired to create the first CGI Aliens to appear on film. Impressed with the company's work on Joe's Apartment creating CGI cockroaches, Jeunet and Pitof opted to hire the company to create 30 to 40 shots of CGI Aliens. The decision was made to use CGI Aliens rather than puppets or suited actors whenever the creatures' legs were in frame, as Jeunet felt that a man in a suit is easy to distinguish when the full body is seen.

All of the spaceships in the film were miniatures, as visual effects supervisors believed CGI was not effective enough to create realistic spaceships. The USM Auriga was originally designed by artist Nigel Phelps and resembled a medical instrument. This design proved to be too vertical for the film's opening shot, in which the camera pans out to show the ship, and did not appear satisfactory in the film's 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Three days before the design had to be finalized, Jeunet rejected it. Phelps, production illustrator Jim Martin, and concept artist Sylvain Despretz were tasked to redesign the ship. Jeunet felt Martin's design was too much like a space station, while he accepted Despretz's design due to its streamlined and horizontal appearance